Methods and related systems for automatically calibrating seed meters

ABSTRACT

In one aspect, a calibration method for a seed meter may include controlling an air pressure source to apply an initial air pressure to a seed transport member of the seed meter defining a plurality of seed cells. The method may further include controlling the seed meter to rotate the seed transport member relative to a seed chamber of the seed meter containing a plurality of seeds. The method may additionally include performing a calibration cycle for the seed meter, which may include monitoring a first parameter indicative of a number of empty seed cells as the seed transport member rotates, iteratively adjusting the air pressure from the initial air pressure as the first parameter is being monitored, and when the first parameter crosses a first threshold, recording the associated air pressure as a minimum air pressure for the seed meter.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present subject matter relates generally to seed meters and, moreparticularly, to a method for automatically calibrating components of aseed meter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A planting implement has a plurality of row units, each row unit havingat least one seed meter which dispenses seeds in a relativelycontrollable manner via a seed transport member of the seed meter. Theseed transport member has an array of seed cells defined around itsouter perimeter region. As the seed transport member rotates within thehousing of the seed meter, each individual seed cell completes repeatedrotations around the housing of the seed meter. During each rotation,each particular seed cell will pass through different regions of theseed meter. When passing through the seed pool of the seed meter, eachseed cell typically acquires at least one seed during normal operationof the seed meter.

Air pressure, such as negative or positive air pressure supplied by anair system having an air pressure source associated with the seed meter,may be applied to the seed transport member to help pick up and holdseeds within the seed cells. Typically, the air pressure may be setbased on predetermined or recommended ranges provided by a seed companyor seed meter manufacturer for a seed meter model and/or a seed type.However, due to slight variations between seed meters of the same modelor variations in seed lots, for example, such estimated ranges may notbe ideal. In instances where the air pressure is not sufficient,excessive skips in the seed meter may occur. Conversely, in instanceswhere the air pressure is too high, excessive multiples in the seedmeter may occur. Such problems may reduce the efficiency of theimplement and may also affect crop yields.

Additionally, a singulator is typically provided for use in a seed meterto reduce the number of occurrences of seed multiples in seed cellsbefore delivery. Typically, the aggressiveness of the singulator may beset according to predetermined or recommended ranges for each seed metermodel and each seed type, e.g., as provided by a seed company or seedmeter manufacturer. However, due to slight variations between seedmeters, or variations in seed lots, such ranges may not be ideal. Ininstances where the singulator aggressiveness is set too high, skips mayoccur. Conversely, in instances where the singulator aggressiveness isset too low, excessive multiples may still occur.

Accordingly, a method for automatically calibrating the air pressure ofan air pressure source and the aggressiveness of a singulator for agiven seed meter would be welcomed in the technology.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in thefollowing description, or may be obvious from the description, or may belearned through practice of the invention.

In one aspect, the present subject matter is directed to a calibrationmethod for a seed meter of an agricultural implement. The methodincludes controlling, with a computing device, an operation of an airpressure source for a seed meter to apply an initial air pressure to aseed transport member of the seed meter, where the seed transport memberdefines a plurality of seed cells. The method further includescontrolling, with the computing device, an operation of the seed meterto rotate the seed transport member relative to a seed chamber of theseed meter, with the seed chamber containing a plurality of seeds.Additionally, the method includes performing, with the computing device,a calibration cycle for the seed meter. The calibration cycle includesmonitoring, with the computing device, a first parameter indicative of anumber of empty seed cells of the plurality of seed cells as the seedtransport member is rotated relative to the seed chamber. Thecalibration cycle further includes iteratively adjusting, with thecomputing device, the vacuum pressure applied to the seed transportmember from the initial vacuum pressure as the first parameter is beingmonitored. Additionally, when it is detected that the first parametercrosses a first threshold, the calibration cycle includes recording,with the computing device, the associated vacuum pressure as a minimumvacuum pressure for the seed meter.

In another aspect, the present subject matter is directed to anotherembodiment of a calibration method for a seed meter of an agriculturalimplement. The method includes controlling, with a computing device, anoperation of a vacuum source for a seed meter to apply an initial vacuumpressure to a seed transport member of the seed meter, with the seedtransport member defining a plurality of seed cells. The method furtherincludes controlling, with the computing device, an operation of theseed meter to rotate the seed transport member relative to a seedchamber of the seed meter, where the seed chamber contains a pluralityof seeds. Additionally, the method includes performing, with thecomputing device, an initial calibration cycle for the seed meter. Theinitial calibration cycle includes monitoring, with the computingdevice, a first parameter indicative of a number of empty seed cells ofthe plurality of seed cells as the seed transport member is rotatedrelative to the seed chamber. The initial calibration cycle furtherincludes monitoring, with the computing device, a second parameterindicative of a number of occurrences of seed multiples associated withoperation of the seed meter as the seed transport member is rotatedrelative to the seed chamber. Further still, the initial calibrationcycle includes iteratively adjusting, with the computing device, thevacuum pressure applied to the seed transport member from the initialvacuum pressure as the first and second parameters are being monitored.Additionally, the initial calibration cycle includes recording, with thecomputing device, at least one vacuum pressure applied to the seedtransport member that is associated with at least one of the firstparameter or the second parameter crossing a predetermined thresholddefined for the at least one of the first parameter or the secondparameter as the vacuum pressure is iteratively adjusted.

In a further aspect, the present subject matter is directed to anadditional embodiment of a calibration method for a seed meter of anagricultural implement. The method includes controlling, with acomputing device, an operation of a vacuum source for a seed meter toapply an initial vacuum pressure to a seed transport member of the seedmeter, where the seed transport member defines a plurality of seedcells. The method further includes controlling, with the computingdevice, an operation of a singulator of a seed meter to apply an initialaggressiveness setting for the singulator. Further, the method includescontrolling, with the computing device, an operation of the seed meterto rotate the seed transport member relative to a seed chamber of theseed meter, with the seed chamber containing a plurality of seeds.Additionally, the method includes performing, with the computing device,an initial calibration cycle for the seed meter. The initial calibrationcycle includes monitoring, with the computing device, a first parameterindicative of a number of empty seed cells of the plurality of seedcells as the seed transport member is rotated relative to the seedchamber. The initial calibration cycle further includes monitoring, withthe computing device, a second parameter indicative of a number ofoccurrences of seed multiples associated with operation of the seedmeter as the seed transport member is rotated relative to the seedchamber. Moreover, the initial calibration cycle includes incrementallyadjusting, with the computing device, the vacuum pressure from theinitial vacuum pressure applied to the seed transport member while thefirst parameter is being monitored. Further, the initial calibrationcycle includes incrementally adjusting, with the computing device, theaggressiveness setting from the initial aggressiveness setting for thesingulator while the second parameter is being monitored and while theminimum vacuum pressure is applied. Further, the initial calibrationcycle includes recording, with the computing device, the vacuum pressureapplied to the seed transport member that is associated with the firstparameter crossing a predetermined threshold defined for the firstparameter and the second parameter crossing a predetermined thresholdfor the second parameter as a minimum vacuum pressure.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdescription and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which areincorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrateembodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serveto explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including thebest mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is setforth in the specification, which makes reference to the appendedfigures, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of a planter inaccordance with aspects of the present subject matter:

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of one embodiment of a row unit suitablefor use with a planter in accordance with aspects of the present subjectmatter;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective, exploded view of one embodiment of aseed meter suitable for use within a row unit in accordance with aspectsof the present subject matter:

FIG. 4 illustrates another perspective, exploded view of the seed metershown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a singulator suitable for usewithin the disclosed seed meter in accordance with aspects of thepresent subject matter, particularly illustrating the singulatorpositioned relative to an associated seed transport member of the seedmeter;

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic view of one embodiment of a system forcalibrating a seed meter in accordance with aspects of the presentsubject matter;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of one embodiment of a control routinethat may be executed when calibrating a vacuum source of a seed meter inaccordance with aspects of the present subject matter;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method forcalibrating a vacuum source of a seed meter in accordance with aspectsof the present subject matter:

FIG. 9 illustrates a flow diagram of one embodiment of a control routinefor calibrating a singulator of a seed meter in accordance with aspectsof the present subject matter;

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of another embodiment of a method forcalibrating a singulator of a seed meter in accordance with aspects ofthe present subject matter:

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram of one embodiment of a controlroutine for calibrating both a vacuum source and a singulator of a seedmeter in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter;

FIG. 12 illustrates a flow diagram of another embodiment of a controlroutine for calibrating both a vacuum source and a singulator of a seedmeter in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter;

FIG. 13 illustrates a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method forcalibrating both a vacuum source and a singulator of a seed meter inaccordance with aspects of the present subject matter;

FIG. 14 illustrates a flow diagram of another embodiment of a controlroutine for calibrating a vacuum source and a singulator of a seed meterin accordance with aspects of the present subject matter; and

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow diagram of another embodiment of a method forcalibrating a vacuum source and a singulator of a seed meter inaccordance with aspects of the present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention,one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Eachexample is provided by way of explanation of the invention, notlimitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be madein the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit ofthe invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as partof one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a stillfurther embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present inventioncovers such modifications and vanations as come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

In general, the present subject matter is directed to methods andrelated systems for calibrating a vacuum source for a seed meter as wellas an associated singulator of the seed meter. In several embodiments,the disclosed system includes a controller communicatively coupled toone or more sensors configured to detect the presence or absence ofseeds within the seed cells of a seed transport member of the seed meterand/or the number of seeds discharged from the seed transport member ofthe seed meter. Additionally, the controller may be communicativelycoupled to suitable components for controlling both the vacuum sourceand the singulator associated with the seed meter.

The controller may be configured to run calibration cycles toautomatically calibrate the vacuum source and the singulator based onsignals received from the various sensors. For example, in oneembodiment, the controller may incrementally increase the vacuumpressure supplied by the vacuum source from a lowest vacuum pressuresetting until the number of empty cells or “skips” detected by at leastone of the sensors reaches or falls below an allowable skips thresholdto establish a minimum vacuum pressure for the seed meter. Thecontroller may further iteratively increase the vacuum pressure untilthe number of occurrences of “seed multiples” (e.g., seed doubles,triples, etc.) detected by at least one sensor is greater than anallowable multiples threshold to establish a maximum vacuum pressure forthe seed meter. Similarly, the controller may calibrate the singulatorby controlling the singulator to start at an aggressiveness settingwithin a passive range of aggressiveness settings of the singulator, inwhich seeds are unlikely to be knocked off of the seed transport member,and to subsequently iteratively increase the aggressiveness of thesingulator until the number of occurrences of seed multiples detected bythe discharge sensor falls below the allowable multiples threshold toestablish a minimum aggressiveness setting for the seed meter. Thecontroller may further iteratively increase the aggressiveness of thesingulator until the number of skips detected by the presence sensor isgreater than the allowable skips threshold to establish a maximumaggressiveness setting for the seed meter.

In some embodiments, the controller may repeat the calibration cyclesany number of times to determine more accurate ranges. Additionally oralternatively, in some embodiments, the controller may perform one ormore reverse calibration cycles to better account for hysteresis effectsin which the controller may iteratively decrease the vacuum pressureand/or aggressiveness of the singulator.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the controller may first determine atleast a minimum vacuum pressure and a minimum aggressiveness setting forthe singulator and then further determine a maximum aggressivenesssetting for the singulator while the determined minimum vacuum pressureis applied to the seed transport member. Similarly, in some embodiments,the controller may first determine at least a minimum vacuum pressureand a minimum aggressiveness setting for the singulator and then furtherdetermine a maximum vacuum pressure for the vacuum source while thedetermined minimum aggressiveness setting is applied. Alternatively oradditionally, in one embodiment, the controller may determine a numberof skips and/or a number of occurrences of seed multiples for aplurality of combinations of different vacuum pressure settings andsingulator aggressiveness settings to determine at least one desiredcombination of vacuum pressure setting and singulator aggressivenesssetting and/or to determine a relationship between vacuum pressure andsingulator aggressiveness settings.

Referring now to drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of oneembodiment of a planting implement or planter 20 in accordance withaspects of the present subject matter. As shown in FIG. 1, the planter20 may include a laterally extending toolbar or frame assembly 22connected at its middle to a forwardly extending tow bar 24 to allow theplanter 20 to be towed by a work vehicle (not shown), such as anagricultural tractor, in a direction of travel (e.g., as indicated byarrow 26). The frame assembly 22 may generally be configured to supporta plurality of seed planting units (or row units) 28. As is generallyunderstood, each row unit 28 may be configured to deposit seeds at adesired depth beneath the soil surface and at a desired seed spacing asthe planter 20 is being towed by the work vehicle, thereby establishingrows of planted seeds. In some embodiments, the bulk of the seeds to beplanted may be stored in one or more seed tanks 30. Thus, as seeds areplanted by the row units 28, a pneumatic distribution system maydistribute additional seeds from the seed tanks 30 to the individual rowunits 28. Additionally, as will be described below, each row unit 28 mayalso include one or more individual seed hoppers for locally storingseeds at the row unit 28.

It should be appreciated that, for purposes of illustration, only aportion of the row units 28 of the planter 20 have been shown in FIG. 1.In general, the planter 20 may include any number of row units 28, suchas 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, or 36 row units. In addition, it should beappreciated that the lateral spacing between row units 28 may beselected based on the type of crop being planted. For example, the rowunits 28 may be spaced approximately 30 inches from one another forplanting corn, and approximately 15 inches from one another for plantingsoybeans.

It should also be appreciated that the configuration of the planter 20described above and shown in FIG. 1 is provided only to place thepresent subject matter in an exemplary field of use. Thus, it should beappreciated that the present subject matter may be readily adaptable toany manner of planter configuration.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a side view of one embodiment of a row unit 28is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter.As shown, the row unit 28 includes a linkage assembly 40 configured tomount the row unit 28 to the toolbar or frame assembly 22 of the planter20. As shown in FIG. 2, the row unit 28 also includes a furrow openingassembly 42, a furrow closing assembly 44, and a press wheel 46. Ingeneral, the furrow opening assembly 42 may include a gauge wheel (notshown) operatively connected to a frame 50 of the row unit 28 via asupport arm 52. Additionally, the opening assembly 42 may also includeone or more opening disks 54 configured to excavate a furrow, or trench,in the soil. As is generally understood, the gauge wheel may beconfigured to engage the surface of the field, with the height of theopening disk(s) 54 being adjusted with respect to the position of thegauge wheel to set the desired depth of the furrow being excavated.Moreover, as shown, the furrow closing assembly 44 may include a closingdisk(s) 56 configured to close the furrow after seeds have beendeposited into the furrow. The press wheel 46 may then be configured toroll over the closed furrow to firm the soil over the seed and promotefavorable seed-to-soil contact.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 2, the row unit 28 may include one ormore seed hoppers 58 and, optionally, a granular chemical product hopper62 supported on the frame 50. In general, the seed hopper(s) 58 may beconfigured to store seeds to be gravitationally deposited within thefurrow as the row unit 28 moves over and across the field. In someembodiments, each seed hopper 58 may store a different seed type.Alternatively, a single seed hopper may be used to store more than onetype of seed. For example, a single seed hopper may be internallydivided (e.g., via a divider wall(s)) so as to define separate seedchambers or compartments for storing differing seed types.

Moreover, the row unit 28 may include a seed meter 100 provided inoperative association with the seed hopper(s) 58. In general, the seedmeter 100 may be configured to uniformly release seeds received from theseed hopper(s) 58 for deposit within the furrow. For instance, the seedmeter 100 may be coupled to a suitable air pressure source 70 (e.g., avacuum or a blower powered by a motor and associated tubing or hoses)configured to generate a pressure (negative or positive) that attachesthe seeds to a rotating seed transport member (e.g., a seed disk) of theseed meter 100, which controls the rate at which the seeds are outputfrom the seed meter 100 to an associated seed tube 72 (or other seeddelivery mechanism). As shown in FIG. 2, the seed tube 72 may extendvertically between the seed meter 100 and the ground to facilitatedelivery of the seeds output from the seed meter 100 to the furrow. Itshould be appreciated that, while the seeds in the seed transport member116 of the seed meter 100 will be discussed herein as being under vacuumor negative pressure from the air pressure source 70, configured as avacuum source, in other embodiments, the seeds in the seed transportmember 116 may alternatively be supplied positive air pressure from adifferent air pressure source to help hold the seeds in the seed cells140.

Additionally, the seed meter 100 may include a singulator 160 as will bedescribed in greater detail below. As is generally understood, thesingulator 160 may be configured to singulate the seeds conveyed withinthe seed meter 100 via the seed transport member for individual releasefrom the meter 100. Further, one or more sensors may be provided inoperative association with the seed meter 100 for monitoring one or moreoperating parameters of the seed meter 100. For instance, as will bedescribed in greater detail below, the seed meter 100 may include one ormore seed pool sensors 102, pre-singulation sensors 104,post-singulation sensors 106, and/or post-delivery sensors 108 formonitoring one or more parameters associated with the operation of theseed meter 100. In addition, the seed meter 100 may also include or beprovided in operative association with one or more additional sensors,such as a position sensor(s) (not shown in FIG. 2) for monitoring therotation and/or rotational position of the seed transport member withinthe seed meter 100. Moreover, a seed delivery sensor 80 may be providedin operative association with the seed tube 72 (or other seed deliverymechanism) for monitoring the seeds falling or being transported throughthe seed tube 72 (or other seed delivery mechanism) after beingdischarged from the seed meter 100.

It should be appreciated that the configuration of the row unit 28described above and shown in FIG. 2 is provided only to place thepresent subject matter in an exemplary field of use. Thus, it should beappreciated that the present subject matter may be readily adaptable toany manner of row unit configuration.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, several views of one embodiment of a seedmeter 100 are illustrated in accordance with aspects of the presentsubject matter. Specifically, FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate perspective,exploded views of the seed meter 100. Additionally, FIG. 5 illustrates across-sectional view of a singulator of the seed meter during operationof the seed meter.

In general, the seed meter 100 may include an outer housing 110configured to encase the various internal components of the meter 100.As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the housing 110 may, for example, correspondto a multi-piece assembly, such as by including a seed-side housingcomponent 112 and a vacuum-side housing component 114 configured to becoupled to each other to form the housing 110. Additionally, the seedmeter 100 includes a seed transport member 116 configured to be disposedbetween the housing components 112, 114 within the interior of the seedmeter 100. As is generally understood, the seed transport member 116 issupported by the housing 110 about a central axis of rotation (indicatedby line 118). Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, in one embodiment, the outeredge of the seed transport member 116 may be configured to engage and bedriven by a drive sprocket 120 that is rotatably driven in turn by ameter drive member 122, such as a motor, that can be operativelyconnected and controlled to effect rotation of the seed transport member116 within the housing 110 about the central axis 118.

In one embodiment, both a seed chamber 124 (FIG. 4) and a vacuum chamber126 (FIG. 3) may be defined within the interior of the seed meter 100along opposed sides of the seed transport member 116. For instance, asshown in FIG. 4, the seed chamber 124 may be configured to be definedbetween one side of the seed transport member 116 and an associated seedchamber wall 128 of the seed-side housing component 112. As is generallyunderstood, at least a portion of the seed chamber 124 may define a seedpool 125 (FIG. 4) within which seeds are retained within the seed meter100 prior to being picked up by the seed transport member 116.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 3, the vacuum chamber 126 may be configuredto be defined between the opposed side of the seed transport member 116and an associated vacuum chamber wall 130 of the vacuum-side housingcomponent 114. In such an embodiment, by applying a vacuum or airpressure differential to the seed transport member 116 along the side ofthe seed transport member 116 opposite the seed chamber 124, the seedscontained within the seed chamber 124 may be attached to the seedtransport member 116 and subsequently carried with rotation of the seedtransport member 116 for discharge from the seed meter 100.

As shown schematically in FIGS. 3 and 4, the vacuum chamber 126 of theseed meter 100 may be connected to the associated vacuum source 70 via asuitable vacuum conduit 134. For instance, the vacuum conduit 134 may becoupled to a vacuum port 136 of a vacuum manifold 138 forming part of orotherwise provided in operative association with the vacuum-side housingcomponent 114. As such, a negative pressure from the vacuum source 70may be applied through the vacuum conduit 134 and associated vacuummanifold 138 to create a vacuum within the vacuum chamber 126 thatcauses the seeds within the seed chamber 124 to become attached to theopposed side of the seed transport member 116.

As further shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of seed cells 140 may bedefined around a perimeter region of the seed transport member 116.Specifically, the seed cells 140 may be spaced uniformly apart from eachother in an annular array around the seed transport member 116 so thatconstant rotation of the seed transport member 116 results in acommensurately constant rate at which a seed cell 140 passes a givenfixed point within the seed meter 100. As particularly shown in FIG. 5,each seed cell 140 includes an opening 142 defined through the seedtransport member 116, thereby allowing the vacuum provided along theopposed side of the seed transport member 116 to be applied through theseed transport member 116 for picking-up a corresponding seed at a givenlocation within the seed meter 100.

As particularly shown in FIG. 3, a sealing gasket 144 may be disposedbetween the vacuum channel wall 130 and the seed transport member 116and may define a sealing edge 146 that seals against the adjacent sideof the seed transport member 116 facing toward the vacuum channel wall130 when the seed meter 100 is fully assembled. Thus, as shown in FIG.3, the seed transport member 116, in combination with the vacuum channelwall 140 and the sealing gasket 144, may collectively define the vacuumchamber 126. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the vacuum chamber 126 may beconfigured and confined to be coincident with the perimeter portion ofthe seed transport member 116 around which the seed cells 140 aredefined. Accordingly, the vacuum chamber 126 may be sealed off from apost-delivery region, which generally extends within the seed meter fromthe location at which the seeds are designed to separate from the seedtransport element 116 (e.g., following rotation past a distal end 150 ofthe vacuum chamber 126) and the location at which the seed cells 140 arereintroduced to the seed pool 125 within the seed chamber 124 of theseed meter 100 (e.g., following rotation past a proximal end 148 of thevacuum chamber 126).

As particularly shown in FIG. 5, the singulator 160 may be positionedwithin the seed chamber 124, opposite the seed transport member 116 fromthe vacuum chamber 126. The singulator 160 includes a pair of seeddeflectors (e.g., upper and lower seed deflectors 160A, 160B) positionedrelative to the seed cells 140 (one of which is shown) of the seedtransport member 116. In general, the singulator 160 may be adjustedsuch that, as a seed cell 140 is conveyed past the seed deflectors 160A,160B, a single seed 164 within the seed cell 140 passes through theupper and lower seed deflectors 160A, 160B of singulator 160 withoutbeing knocked off the seed transport member 116 by the deflector(s)160A, 160B. Any further seed 168 within the seed cell 140 contacts oneor both of the seed deflectors 160A, 160B such that the further seed(s)168 is knocked off of the seed transport member 116.

It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the deflectors 160A,160B may be staggered along the circumferential path of the seed cells140 such that the seed cells 140 pass through the deflectors 160A, 160Bsequentially to allow the seeds 168 contact at least one of thedeflectors 160A, 160B. Alternatively, in other embodiments, thedeflectors 160A, 160B may be positioned directly opposite each otheracross a seed cell 140 such that the seed cells 140 pass through thedeflectors 160A, 160B substantially simultaneously while contacting atleast one of the deflectors 160A, 160B.

The aggressiveness setting of the singulator 160 may be adjusted bychanging one or both of the respective distances 166A, 166B definedbetween each deflector 160A, 160B and a centerline 140C of the seedcells 140. For example, in one embodiment, the distance 166A between theupper seed deflector 160A and the centerline 140C of the seed cells 140is adjustable by actuating a first actuator 170A configured to actuatethe upper seed deflector 160A and the distance 166B between the lowerseed deflector 160B and the centerline 140C of the seed cells 140 isadjustable by actuating a second actuator 170B configured to actuate thelower seed deflector 160B. It should be appreciated that, in otherembodiments, both deflectors 160A, 160B may instead be actuatable by acommon actuator. The distances 166A, 166B between the deflectors 160A,160B and the centerline 140C of the seed cells 140 may be different,such that one of the deflectors 160A, 160B is more aggressive than theother. However, in other embodiments, the distances 166A, 166B betweenthe deflectors 160A, 160B and the centerline 140C of the seed cells 140may be the same, such that the deflectors 160A, 160B are equallyaggressive. By increasing the distance(s) 166A, 166B, the aggressivenesssetting of the singulator 160 may be reduced or lowered such that thesingulator 160 may knock fewer “multiples” (e.g., further seeds 168) offof the seed transport member 116 and/or allow larger seeds 164 to passtherethrough. Alternatively, by decreasing the distance(s) 166A, 166Bthe aggressiveness setting of the singulator 160 may be increased suchthat the singulator 160 may more effectively knock multiples off of theseed transport member 116 and/or may only allow smaller seeds 164 topass therethrough.

As indicated above with reference to FIG. 2, the seed meter 100 may alsoinclude various sensors, such as seed pool sensor 102, a pre-singulationsensor 104, a post-singulation sensor 106, and a post-deliver sensor108. In general, the seed pool sensor 102 (FIG. 2) may correspond to anysuitable sensor or sensing device configured to monitor the presence orabsence of seeds within one or more of the seed cells 140 passingthrough a seed acquisition region of the seed meter 100 at which seedsare initially staged or retained for subsequent pick-up by the seedtransport member 116, e.g., at the seed pool 125 for the seed meter 100.As such, in several embodiments, the seed pool sensor 102 may have adetection zone that is directed towards the portion of the seedtransport member 116 that passes through the relatively lowest region ofthe seed chamber 124 to detect the presence or absence of seeds at thislower portion of the seed acquisition region to provide an indication ofthe amount of seeds remaining within the seed pool 125. In oneembodiment, the seed pool sensor 102 may correspond to an opticalsensor.

Additionally, in several embodiments, the pre-singulation sensor 104(FIG. 2) and the post-singulation sensor 106 (FIG. 2) may generally beconfigured to detect the presence or absence of seeds contained withinthe seed cells 140 being conveyed immediately upstream of the singulator160 and immediately downstream of the singulator 160, respectively. Forinstance, in one embodiment, the pre-singulation sensor 104 may bepositioned within the seed meter 100 such that its detection zone isaligned with a location within a pre-singulation region between the seedpool 125 and the singulator 160 while the post-singulation sensor 106may be positioned within the seed meter 100 such that its detection zoneis aligned with a location within a post-singulation region between thesingulator 160 and the post-delivery region (or the distal end 150 ofthe vacuum chamber 126). In some instances, the sensors 104, 106 mayfurther detect a number of seeds within the seed cells 140 passingthrough their respective detection zones. In some embodiments, each ofthe sensors 104, 106 may, for instance, correspond to an optical sensor.

Moreover, the post-delivery sensor 108 may generally have a detectionzone that is directed towards the portion of the seed transport member116 that passes through the post-delivery region of the seed meter 100.In such embodiments, given the absence of a vacuum being applied to theseed transport member 116 within the post-delivery region, thepost-delivery sensor 108 may generally be configured to detect the emptyseed cells 140 passing by the location of the sensor 108 following therelease of the seeds contained therein (e.g., following rotation pastthe distal end 150 of the vacuum chamber 126) but prior to such seedcells 140 being reintroduced back into the seed pool within the seedchamber 124 of the seed meter 100. In addition, the post-delivery sensor108 may also be used to detect a seed that is stuck or that otherwiseremains within its corresponding seed cell 140 as the seed cell 140 asrotated through the post-delivery region. In some embodiments, thepost-delivery sensor 108 may correspond to an optical sensor.

It should be appreciated that the configuration of the seed meter 100described above and shown in FIGS. 3-5 is provided only to place thepresent subject matter in an exemplary field of use. Thus, it should beappreciated that the present subject matter may be readily adaptable toany manner of seed meter configuration.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a schematic view of one embodiment of a system200 for calibrating the operation of a seed meter is illustrated inaccordance with aspects of the present subject matter. In general, thesystem 200 will be described herein with reference to the plantingimplement 20, the row unit 28, and the seed meter 100 described abovewith reference to FIGS. 1-5. However, it should be appreciated that thedisclosed system 200 may generally be utilized with any planter orseeder having any suitable implement configuration, with row unitshaving any suitable row unit configuration, with seed meters having anysuitable meter configuration and/or with seed transport members have anysuitable transport member configuration.

In several embodiments, the system 200 may include a controller 202 andvarious other components configured to be communicatively coupled toand/or controlled by the controller 202, such as a meter drive member122 configured to rotationally drive the seed meter 100, a vacuum source70 configured to configured to generate a vacuum pressure that attachesthe seeds to a rotating seed transport member, one or more deflectoractuators 170A, 170B configured to adjust an aggressiveness of asingulator 160, and/or various sensors configured to monitor one or moreoperating parameters associated with the seed meter 100. For example,the controller 202 may be communicatively coupled to one or more sensors(e.g., the pre-singulation sensor 104, the post-singulation sensor 106,and/or the seed delivery sensor 80) that are configured to providesensor data indicative of the number of seed skips occurring as duringoperation of the seed meter 100, and one or more sensors configured toprovide data indicative of the number of occurrences of multiplesreleased from the seed meter 100 (e.g., the seed delivery sensor 80). Aswill be described below, by analyzing the sensor data, the controller202 may be configured to determine desired operating ranges of variouscomponents of the seed meter 100.

It should further be appreciated that the controller 202 may correspondto any suitable processor-based device(s), such as a computing device orany combination of computing devices. Thus, as shown in FIG. 6, thecontroller 202 may generally include one or more processor(s) 206 andassociated memory devices 208 configured to perform a variety ofcomputer-implemented functions (e.g., performing the methods, steps,algorithms, calculations and the like disclosed herein). As used herein,the term “processor” refers not only to integrated circuits referred toin the art as being included in a computer, but also refers to acontroller, a microcontroller, a microcomputer, a programmable logiccontroller (PLC), an application specific integrated circuit, and otherprogrammable circuits. Additionally, the memory 208 may generallycomprise memory element(s) including, but not limited to, computerreadable medium (e.g., random access memory (RAM)), computer readablenon-volatile medium (e.g., a flash memory), a floppy disk, a compactdisc-read only memory (CD-ROM), a magneto-optical disk (MOD), a digitalversatile disc (DVD) and/or other suitable memory elements. Such memory208 may generally be configured to store information accessible to theprocessor(s) 206, including data 210 that can be retrieved, manipulated,created and/or stored by the processor(s) 206 and instructions 212 thatcan be executed by the processor(s) 206.

In several embodiments, the data 210 may be stored in one or moredatabases. For example, the memory 208 may include a sensor database 214for storing sensor data, such as data associated with the operation ofthe seed meter 100 as received from the various sensors. For instance,during operation of the seed meter 100, data from all or a portion ofthe sensors communicatively coupled to the controller 202 may be stored(e.g., temporarily) within the sensor database 214 and subsequently usedto determine one or more parameter values associated with the operationof the seed meter 100 (e.g., the presence or absence of seeds within thevarious seed cells 140, the number of seed skips occurring across agiven time period or number of revolutions of the seed transport member116, the number of seed multiples occurring across a given time periodor number of revolutions of the seed transport member 116, and/or thelike).

Additionally, in several embodiments, the instructions 212 stored withinthe memory 208 of the controller 202 may be executed by the processor(s)206 to implement a calibration module 216. In general, the calibrationmodule 216 may be configured to sample and/or evaluate the data receivedfrom the various sensors communicatively coupled to the controller 202.In one embodiment, the calibration module 216 may be configured tosample and/or evaluate the data from one or more of the sensorsdescribed herein continuously, periodically, or only as demanded.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6, the controller 202 may also include acommunications interface 218 to provide a means for the controller 202to communicate with any of the various other system components describedherein. For instance, one or more communicative links or interfaces(e.g., one or more data buses) may be provided between thecommunications interface 218 and both the vacuum source 70 and thedeflector actuator(s) 170A, 170B to allow the controller 202 to transmitcontrol signals for automatically controlling the operation of suchcomponents. Similarly, one or more communicative links or interfaces(e.g., one or more data buses) may be provided between thecommunications interface 218 and the various sensors to allow theassociated sensor data to be transmitted to the controller 202.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, the system 200 may also include a userinterface 220 in communication with the controller 202. Morespecifically, the user interface 220 may be configured to providefeedback (e.g., notifications associated with the operational parametersof the seed meter 100 and/or vacuum source 70) to the operator of theimplement 10. As such, the user interface 220 may include one or morefeedback devices (not shown), such as display screens, speakers, warninglights, and/or the like, which are configured to communicate suchfeedback. In addition, some embodiments of the user interface 220 mayinclude one or more input devices (not shown), such as touchscreens,keypads, touchpads, knobs, buttons, sliders, switches, mice,microphones, and/or the like, which are configured to receive userinputs from the operator. In one embodiment, the user interface 220 maybe positioned within a cab of a work vehicle configured to tow theimplement 10 across the field. However, in alternative embodiments, theuser interface 220 may have any suitable configuration and/or bepositioned in any other suitable location.

It should be appreciated that, in general, the controller 202 of thedisclosed system 200 may correspond to any suitable computing device(s)that is configured to function as described herein. In severalembodiments, the controller 202 may form part of an active plantingsystem configured to perform a planting operation, such as bycorresponding to a vehicle controller of a work vehicle configured totow an associated planter 20 and/or an associated implement controllerof the planter 20. Alternatively, the controller 202 may comprise aseparate computing device(s) configured to be used primarily for thepurpose of performing the various calibration methods and/or routinesdescribed herein.

It should additionally be appreciated that the controller 202 maycorrespond to an existing controller of the implement 10 or anassociated work vehicle (not shown) or the controller 202 may correspondto a separate processing device. For instance, in one embodiment, thecontroller 202 may form all or part of a separate plug-in module thatmay be installed within the implement 10 or associated work vehicle toallow for the disclosed system and method to be implemented withoutrequiring additional software to be uploaded onto existing controldevices of the implement 10 or the associated work vehicle.

Several routines and methods will be described below that may be used toautomatically calibrate the seed meter 100. More particularly, theroutines and methods may be used to determine appropriate vacuumpressure settings and/or range ranges and/or appropriate singulatoraggressiveness settings and/or ranges for a seed meter and a given seedtype. Generally, depending on the size and shape, a seed type may bemore sensitive to changes in vacuum pressure or to changes in singulatoraggressiveness. For example, if a seed shape is flat, rounded with apoint, or is small, less vacuum pressure may be required to pick upseeds, but seed multiples may be more likely, thus singulation isneeded. If a seed type is large, higher vacuum pressure is required topick up seeds, but seed multiples are less likely, thus singulation isless necessary. As such, it is important that the vacuum pressure andsingulator aggressiveness be calibrated properly for an individual seedmeter and seed type.

It should be appreciated that the various calibration methods androutines disclosed herein will generally be described as correspondingto static calibration processes such that each calibration method and/orroutine is performed while the implement 10, row unit 28, and/or seedmeter 100 is stationary (i.e., not moving across a field to activelyplant seeds within the ground). However, one of ordinary skill in theart will appreciate that various aspects of the disclosed methods and/orroutines may be also be applied as part of a dynamic calibration processperformed during the execution of a planting operation.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flow diagram of one embodiment of a controlalgorithm or routine 300 that may be executed when automaticallycalibrating a vacuum source for a seed meter is illustrated inaccordance with aspects of the present subject matter. In general, thecontrol routine 300 will be described herein as being implemented by thecontroller 202 of the system 200 described above with reference to FIG.6. However, it should be appreciated that the various processesdescribed below may alternatively be implemented by another computingdevice or any combination of computing devices. In addition, althoughFIG. 7 depicts control steps or functions performed in a particularorder for purposes of illustration, the control routines discussedherein are not limited to any particular order or arrangement. Oneskilled in the art, using the disclosures provided herein, willappreciate that the various steps or functions of the algorithmsdisclosed herein can be omitted, rearranged, combined, and/or adapted invarious ways without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 7, while the implement 10, row unit 18, and/or seedmeter 100 is in a static position or is otherwise stationary, at (302),the controller 202 may be configured to control the meter drive member122 of the seed meter 100 as described above to rotate the seedtransport member 116 within the meter housing 110 relative to the seedscontained within the seed pool 125. Additionally, the controller 202 maycontrol the vacuum source 70, at (304), to set the vacuum pressure ofthe vacuum source 70 at an initial vacuum pressure. In some embodiments,such as the embodiment described in FIG. 7, the initial vacuum pressureof the vacuum source 70 may correspond to a minimum vacuum setting forthe vacuum source 70. For instance, in some embodiments, the vacuumpressure at the minimum vacuum setting may be approximately equal tozero (e.g., slightly greater than zero) such that there is at least somevacuum pressure applied to the seed transport member 116 when the vacuumsource 70 is at its minimum vacuum setting. By using the lowest vacuumpressure possible during the calibration cycle, less energy is used andless wear is caused on associated parts. Alternatively, as will bedescribed below, in other embodiments, the initial vacuum pressure maycorrespond to a maximum vacuum setting for the vacuum source 70. In someembodiments, the initial vacuum pressure may be predetermined and storedin the memory 208 of the controller 202. However, it should beappreciated that the initial vacuum pressure may otherwise be selected.

Thereafter, the controller 202 may be configured to determine a minimumacceptable vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70 at which the seedmeter 100 operation satisfies a given operational threshold(s)associated with the number of seeds being released from the meter 100.For example, as shown in FIG. 7, at (306), the controller 202 may beconfigured to assess whether the vacuum pressure is high enough to allowthe seed transport member 116 to adequately pick-up seeds and transportsuch seeds to the release point for subsequent delivery to the seed tube82. More particularly, the controller 202 may be configured to determinewhether the number of seed skips detected by one of the sensors, e.g.,by the pre-singulation sensor 104, the post-singulation sensor 106,and/or a seed delivery sensor 80, is less than or falls below apredetermined allowable skips threshold. For instance, when monitoringthe seed meter operation via one of the internal seed meter sensors(e.g., the pre-singulation sensor 104 or the post-singulation sensor106), the number of seed skips may be represented by the number of emptyseed cells detected by such sensor(s). Similarly, when monitoring theseed meter operation via the seed delivery sensor 80, the number of seedskips may be represented by the number of actual skips detected by suchsensor within the seed tube 82.

It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the predeterminedallowable skips threshold may be, for example, an input provided by theoperator via the user interface 220. However, in other embodiments, thepredetermined allowable skips threshold may be found or selected in anyother suitable way, such as from a predetermined look-up table stored inthe controller 202, for example. In general, the predetermined skipsthreshold may correspond to a number of allowable skips per given numberof seeds or number of revolutions of the seed transport member 116 (orfor a given amount of operating time). For example, the predeterminedskips threshold may accept 10 skips per 1000 seeds, 5 skips per 1000seeds, or 1 skip per 1000 seeds. It should be appreciated that, in oneembodiment, the post-delivery sensor(s) 108 may be used to determinewhether skips detected, for example, by the seed delivery sensor 80 arecaused by the vacuum pressure being too low or by seeds stuck in theseed cells 140.

In the event that the number of skips is greater than the predeterminedallowable skips threshold, the controller 202 may be configured todetermine that the vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70 is not highenough. Thus, at (308), the controller 202 may control the vacuum source70 to iteratively increase the vacuum pressure. It should be understoodthat a vacuum source 70 may be operated to provide a range of vacuumpressures. The range of vacuum pressures may be divided by discreteintervals, of equal or varying size, into several vacuum pressure stepsor settings. An iterative increase is therefore intended to meanincreasing the vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70 from a lowervacuum pressure setting corresponding to a lower vacuum pressure by agiven interval to a higher vacuum pressure setting corresponding to ahigher vacuum pressure. As such, several vacuum pressures may be testedduring calibration of the seed meter 100. In some embodiments, thevacuum pressure may be increased between directly adjacent orconsecutive iterative pressure settings for the vacuum source 70.Alternatively, in some embodiments, the vacuum pressure may be increasedby several vacuum pressure settings at a time.

Following each iterative increase of the vacuum pressure, the controller202 may wait until a predetermined delay period lapses beforere-checking (e.g., at 306) whether the number of skips at the increasedvacuum pressure of the vacuum source is less than the predeterminedallowable skips threshold. In such instance, once the predetermineddelay period has lapsed, the controller 202 may continue to operate theseed meter for a given duration (e.g., for a given number of seeds,number of rotations of the seed transport member 116, or predeterminedtime period associated with the predetermined allowable skips threshold)to allow the number of skips to be re-assessed relative to thethreshold. It should be appreciated that the predetermined delay periodmay, for example, be chosen such that the seed meter 100 reaches asteady state condition after the increase in vacuum pressure. In someembodiments, the delay period may correspond to a predetermined amountof time, e.g., such as 30 seconds, 1 minute, etc. In other embodiments,however, the delay period may correspond to dispensing of apredetermined number of seeds, e.g., 50 seeds, 100 seeds, 200 seeds,etc. In such embodiment, one or more of the sensors 104, 106, 108 withinthe seed meter 100 and/or the seed delivery sensor(s) 80 may be used toaccurately count the number of dispensed seeds.

Once it is detected that the number of skips is less than or has fallenbelow the predetermined allowable skips threshold at (306), thecontroller 202 may, at (310), be configured to determine whether thecurrent vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70 at which the seed meter100 operates satisfies a given operational threshold(s) associated withthe number of seeds being released from the meter 100. For example, asshown in FIG. 7, at (310), the controller 202 may be configured toassess whether the number of occurrences of seed multiples detected byone of the sensors, e.g., the seed delivery sensor 80, is greater thanor exceeds a predetermined allowable multiples threshold. It should beappreciated that, in some embodiments, the number of skips and thenumber of occurrences of seed multiples may be detected by the samesensor, e.g., the seed delivery sensor 80, or may be detected byseparate sensors.

Similar to the predetermined allowable skips threshold, it should beappreciated that, in some embodiments, the predetermined allowablemultiples threshold may, for example, be an input provided by theoperator via the user interface 220. However, in other embodiments, thepredetermined allowable multiples threshold may be found or selected inany other suitable way, such as from a predetermined look-up tablestored in the controller 202. In general, the predetermined allowablemultiples threshold may allow or accept a number of occurrences of seedmultiples (hereinafter referred to as “number of multiples”) per givennumber of seeds (or per a given amount of operating time) or compared toa number of rotations of the seed transport member 116. For example, theoperator may allow 10 seed multiples per 1000 seeds, 5 seed multiplesper 1000 seeds, or 1 seed multiples per 1000 seeds.

In the event that the number of multiples is greater than thepredetermined allowable multiples threshold at the current vacuumpressure, the controller 202 may determine that the seed meter 100cannot operate as desired and, at (312), indicate an error. Moreparticularly, if the number of skips at the current vacuum pressure iswithin the allowable skips threshold, but the number of multiples at thecurrent vacuum pressure exceeds the allowable multiples threshold, thereis no range of vacuum that can suitably meter the current seed type orseed lot being metered within the seed meter 100 alone. Instead, thevacuum source 70 needs to be used in conjunction with the singulator 160for that particular seed type or seed lot.

Otherwise, in the event that the number of multiples is less than thepredetermined allowable multiples threshold, the controller 202 may, at(314), be configured to record the current vacuum pressure of the vacuumsource 70 as the minimum acceptable vacuum pressure for the seed meter100. In this regard, the minimum acceptable vacuum pressure may, forinstance, correspond to the minimum vacuum pressure for the seed meterand the associated seed type at which the seed meter can be operatedwhile maintaining the number of skips below the allowable threshold. Asindicated above, the “initial vacuum pressure” set at (304) maycorrespond, for example, to the lowest vacuum pressure setting for thevacuum source 70. In such instance, it would typically be expected thatthe number of skips at such setting would exceed the allowable skipsthreshold. Thus, by iteratively increasing the vacuum pressure andre-assessing the performance of the seed meter at each iterativesetting, the controller 202 may determine the minimum pressure settingat which the operation of the seed meter 100 is acceptable in terms ofthe number of seed skips.

Moreover, in addition to determining the minimum acceptable vacuumpressure for the vacuum source 70, the controller 202 may also beconfigured to determine a maximum acceptable vacuum pressure of thevacuum source 70 at which the seed meter operation satisfies a givenoperational threshold(s) associated with the number of seeds beingreleased from the meter 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, with thevacuum source 70 initially operating at the minimum vacuum pressurerecorded at (314), the controller 202 may, at (316), be configured toiteratively increase the vacuum pressure and thereafter, at (318), beconfigured to determine whether the number of occurrences of seedmultiples detected by one of the sensors at the iteratively increasedvacuum pressure is greater than or exceeds the predetermined allowablemultiples threshold.

In the event that the number of multiples is less than the predeterminedallowable multiples threshold, the controller 202 may determine that thevacuum pressure may be further increased at (316), control the vacuumsource 70 to iteratively increase the vacuum pressure. Thereafter, thecontroller 202 may wait a predetermined delay period before re-checking(at 312) whether the number of multiples at the increased vacuumpressure of the vacuum source 70 is greater than the predeterminedallowable multiples threshold. For instance, the predetermined delayperiod may be chosen based on the amount of seeds, number of revolutionsof the seed transport member 116, or operating time required for theseed meter 100 to reach steady state operation. In such instance, oncethe predetermined delay period has lapsed for a new vacuum setting, thecontroller 202 may continue to operate the seed meter for a givenduration (e.g., for a given number of seeds or predetermined time periodassociated with the predetermined allowable multiples threshold) toallow the number of multiples to be re-assessed relative to thethreshold.

Once it is detected that the number of multiples is greater than orexceeds the predetermined allowable multiples threshold at (318), thecontroller 202 may, at (320), be configured to record the previousvacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70 (i.e., the last vacuum pressuresetting applied before the allowable multiples threshold was exceeded)as the maximum acceptable vacuum pressure for the seed meter 100. Inthis regard, the maximum acceptable vacuum pressure may, for instance,correspond to the maximum vacuum pressure for the seed meter and theassociated seed type at which the seed meter can be operated whilemaintaining the number of multiples below the allowable threshold. Thus,by iteratively increasing the vacuum pressure and re-assessing theperformance of the seed meter at each higher iterative setting, thecontroller 202 may determine the maximum pressure setting at which theoperation of the seed meter 100 is acceptable in terms of the number ofseed multiples.

It should be appreciated that the controller 202 may be configured toperform one or more additional vacuum calibration cycles to adjust orverify the minimum vacuum pressure and/or the maximum vacuum pressuredetermined during the initial vacuum calibration cycle (e.g., theroutine 300). For example, in some embodiments, the minimum vacuumpressures determined during the initial vacuum calibration cycle and anyadditional, follow-up vacuum calibration cycles may be averaged tocalculate a final average minimum acceptable vacuum pressure. Similarly,the maximum vacuum pressures determined during the initial vacuumcalibration cycle and any additional, follow-up vacuum calibrationcycles may be averaged to calculate a final average maximum acceptablevacuum pressure. However, the minimum and maximum vacuum pressures fromthe various vacuum calibration cycles may be otherwise analyzed orcompared to determine final minimum and maximum vacuum pressures for theseed meter 100.

In addition to performing one or more additional vacuum calibrationcycles following the initial vacuum calibration cycle (or as analternative thereto), the controller 202 may be configured to perform areverse air pressure calibration cycle, e.g., a reverse vacuumcalibration cycle, in which the steps of the calibration routine 300 arereversed to better account for hysteresis effects. For example, in thecase of a reverse vacuum calibration cycle following the determinationof the maximum acceptable vacuum pressure (e.g., at 320), the controller202 may increase the vacuum pressure by a given margin (e.g., 10% overthe previously determined maximum acceptable vacuum pressure) and theniteratively decrease the vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70 untilit is detected that the number of multiples is less than thepredetermined allowable multiples threshold, at which point thecontroller 202 may record the current vacuum pressure of the vacuumsource 70 as a second maximum acceptable vacuum pressure. Thereafter,the controller 202 may further iteratively decrease the vacuum pressureof the vacuum source 70 until the number of skips is greater than thepredetermined allowable skips threshold and record the previous vacuumpressure of the vacuum source 70 (e.g., the vacuum pressure before theallowable skips threshold was exceeded) as a second minimum acceptablevacuum pressure. By performing such a reverse calibration cycle, thecontroller 202 may further refine the specific pressure settingsassociated with the minimum and maximum acceptable vacuum pressures forthe seed meter 100.

Alternatively, in the case of a stand-alone reverse calibration cycle,instead of the initial vacuum pressure corresponding to a minimum vacuumsetting, the initial vacuum setting may instead correspond to a maximumvacuum setting for the vacuum source 70. As such, the controller 202 maybe configured to iteratively decrease the vacuum pressure of the vacuumsource 70 from the maximum vacuum setting, similar as described above,until it is detected that the number of multiples is less than thepredetermined allowable multiples threshold, at which point thecontroller 202 may record the current vacuum pressure of the vacuumsource 70 as a maximum acceptable vacuum pressure. Thereafter, thecontroller 202 may further iteratively decrease the vacuum pressure ofthe vacuum source 70 until the number of skips is greater than thepredetermined allowable skips threshold and record the previous vacuumpressure of the vacuum source 70 (e.g., the vacuum pressure before theallowable skips threshold was exceeded) as a minimum acceptable vacuumpressure.

As a result of the above-described calibration routine 300, thecontroller 202 may define a target range of vacuum pressures, from theminimum acceptable vacuum pressure to the maximum acceptable vacuumpressure, in which the number of skips and multiples are withinexpectations. An appropriate operating vacuum pressure may then beselected from the target vacuum pressure range. For instance, in oneembodiment, it may be desirable to select a vacuum pressure setting ator near the minimum value for the target range such that the lowestamount of energy required to operate the vacuum source 70 is used,thereby increasing the operating efficiency of the seed meter 100 andincreasing the overall life of the seed meter 100 and/or vacuum source70.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method370 for automatically calibrating an air pressure source of a seed meteris illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter.In general, the method 370 will be described herein with reference tothe system 200 described above with reference to FIG. 6. However, itshould be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that thedisclosed method 370 may be implemented within any other system. Inaddition, although FIG. 8 depicts steps performed in a particular orderfor purposes of illustration and discussion, the method discussed hereinare not limited to any particular order or arrangement. One skilled inthe art, using the disclosures provided herein, will appreciate thatvarious steps of the method disclosed herein can be omitted, rearranged,combined, and/or adapted in various ways without deviating from thescope of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 8, at (372), the method 370 includes controlling anoperation of an air pressure source for a seed meter to apply an initialair pressure to a seed transport member of the seed meter. For example,as indicated above, the vacuum source 70 may be controlled by thecontroller 202 to apply an initial vacuum pressure to the seed cells 140of the seed transport member 116 of the seed meter 100.

Moreover, at (374), the method 370 includes controlling an operation ofthe seed meter to rotate the seed transport member relative to a seedchamber of the seed meter. For example, as indicated above, thecontroller 202 may control the operation of the meter drive member 122to rotate the seed transport member 116 to pick up seeds from the seedchamber 124 of the seed meter 100.

Further, at (376), the method 370 includes performing a calibrationcycle for the seed meter. For instance, as indicated above, thecalibration cycle may be used to determine at least one of a minimumacceptable vacuum pressure or a maximum acceptable vacuum pressure to beapplied by the vacuum source 70 to the seed meter 100.

As shown in FIG. 8, as part of the calibration cycle, the method 370 mayinclude monitoring a first parameter indicative of a number of emptyseed cells at (376A). For example, as described above, the controller202 may receive sensor data from one or more of the sensors 80, 104, 106indicating a number of seed skips occurring during operation of the seedmeter 100 at a given vacuum pressure.

Additionally, as part of the calibration cycle, the method 370 mayinclude monitoring a second parameter indicative of a number ofoccurrences of seed multiples associated with operation of the seedmeter at (376B). For example, as described above, the controller 202 mayreceive sensor data from one or more of the sensors, e.g., the seeddelivery sensor 80, indicating a number of multiples occurring duringoperation of the seed meter 100 at a given vacuum pressure.

Further, as part of the calibration cycle, the method 370 includes, at(376C), iteratively adjusting the air pressure from the initial airpressure as the first and second parameters are being monitored. Asdescribed above, the controller 202 may, for example, control the vacuumsource 70 to iteratively increase the vacuum pressure from a lowervacuum pressure setting to a higher vacuum pressure setting whilemonitoring the number of skips and multiples detected by the sensor(s)80, 104, 106.

Additionally, as part of the calibration cycle, the method 370 includes,at (376D), recording at least one air pressure applied to the seedtransport member that is associated with the first parameter and/or thesecond parameter crossing a predetermined threshold defined for suchparameter(s) as the vacuum pressure is iteratively adjusted. Forexample, as indicated above with reference to FIG. 7, the controller 202may record a minimum acceptable vacuum pressure associated with thenumber of skips falling below an allowable skips threshold and/or amaximum acceptable vacuum pressure associated with the number ofmultiples exceeding an allowable multiples threshold.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a flow diagram of one embodiment of a controlalgorithm or routine 400 that may be executed when automaticallycalibrating a singulator of a seed meter is illustrated in accordancewith aspects of the present subject matter. In general, the controlroutine 400 will be described herein as being implemented by thecontroller 202 of the system 200 described above with reference to FIG.6. However, it should be appreciated that the various processesdescribed below may alternatively be implemented by another computingdevice or any combination of computing devices. In addition, althoughFIG. 9 depicts control steps or functions performed in a particularorder for purposes of illustration, the control routines discussedherein are not limited to any particular order or arrangement. Oneskilled in the art, using the disclosures provided herein, willappreciate that the various steps or functions of the algorithmsdisclosed herein can be omitted, rearranged, combined, and/or adapted invarious ways without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 9, while the implement 10, row unit 18, and/or seedmeter 100 is in a static position or otherwise stationary, at (402), thecontroller 202 may be configured to control the meter drive member 122as described above to rotate the seed transport member 116 within themeter housing 110 relative to the seeds contained within the seed pool125. Additionally, the controller 202 may further control the deflectoractuator(s) 170A, 170B, at (404), to set the aggressiveness setting ofthe singulator 160 at an initial aggressiveness setting. In someembodiments, the initial aggressiveness setting for the singulator 160may correspond to an aggressiveness setting within a passive range ofsettings of the singulator 160. Within the passive range of settings ofthe singulator 160, seeds being carried by the seed transport member 116may have little to no contact with one or both of the deflectors 160A,160B. For example, in some embodiments, the initial aggressivenesssetting for the singulator 160 may be at its widest setting (e.g., atthe largest distances 166A, 166B (FIG. 5)). Alternatively, in otherembodiments, as will be described below, the initial aggressivenesssetting may instead correspond to an aggressiveness setting within anaggressive range of aggressiveness settings of the singulator 160, wherethe distances 166A, 166B are configured such that seeds being carried bythe seed transport member 116 may contact at least one of the deflectors160A, 160B such that at least most, but preferably all, of the seedmultiples 168 are knocked off of or out of the seed transport member 116and some of the singulated seeds 164 are also knocked off of the seedtransport member 116. In some embodiments, the initial aggressivenesssetting may be predetermined and stored in the memory 208 of thecontroller 202. However, it should be appreciated that the initialaggressiveness setting may otherwise be selected.

Thereafter, the controller 202 may be configured to determine a minimumacceptable aggressiveness setting of the singulator 160 at which theseed meter operation satisfies a given operational threshold(s)associated with the number of seeds being released from the meter 100.For example, as shown in FIG. 9, at (406), the controller 202 may beconfigured to assess whether the aggressiveness setting is aggressiveenough to allow a given number seed multiples to be eliminated by thesingulator 160. More particularly, the controller 202 may be configuredto determine whether the number of multiples detected by one of thesensor(s) downstream of the singulator 160, e.g., the seed deliverysensor 80, is less than or falls below a predetermined allowablemultiples threshold, as described above.

In the event that the number of multiples is greater than thepredetermined allowable multiples threshold, the controller 202 may beconfigured to determine that the aggressiveness setting of thesingulator 160 is not aggressive enough and, at (408), actuate one orboth of the deflector actuators 170A, 170B to iteratively increase theaggressiveness of the singulator 160. It should be understood that asingulator 160 may be operated to provide a range of aggressivenesssettings. Generally, as described above, the higher the singulatoraggressiveness setting, the smaller the distances 166A, 166B between thedeflectors 160A. The range of aggressiveness settings of the singulator160 (i.e., the range of the distances 166A, 166B) may be divided bydiscrete intervals, of equal or varying size, into severalaggressiveness settings. An iterative increase is therefore intended tomean increasing the aggressiveness setting of the singulator 160 from alower aggressiveness setting, corresponding to wider distances 166A,166B, by a given interval to a higher aggressiveness setting,corresponding to smaller distances 166A, 166B. As such, severalaggressiveness settings may be tested during calibration of the seedmeter 100. In some embodiments, the aggressiveness setting may beincreased between directly adjacent or consecutive iterative settingsfor the singulator 160. Alternatively, in some embodiments, theaggressiveness setting may be increased by several aggressivenesssettings when an increase is determined to be necessary by thecontroller 202.

Following each iterative increase in the singulator aggressivenesssetting, the controller 202 may wait a predetermined delay period beforere-checking (at 406) whether the number of multiples at the increasedaggressiveness setting is greater than the predetermined allowablemultiples threshold. For instance, as indicated above, the predetermineddelay period may be chosen based on the amount of seeds or operatingtime required for the seed meter 100 to reach steady state operation. Insuch instance, once the predetermined delay period has lapsed for a newaggressiveness setting, the controller 202 may continue to operate theseed meter for a given duration (e.g., for a given number of seeds,number of rotations of the seed transport member 116, or predeterminedtime period associated with the predetermined allowable multiplesthreshold) to allow the number of multiples to be re-assessed relativeto the threshold.

Once it is detected that the number of multiples is less than or fallsbelow the predetermined allowable multiples threshold at (406), thecontroller 202 may, at (410), be configured to assess whether theaggressiveness setting of the seed meter 100 operation satisfies a givenoperational threshold(s) associated with the number of seeds beingreleased from the meter 100. For example as shown in FIG. 9, thecontroller 202 may, at (410), be configured to determine whether thenumber of skips detected by one of the sensors downstream of thesingulator 160, e.g., by the post-singulation sensor 106 and/or the seeddelivery sensor 80, is greater than or exceeds a predetermined allowableskips threshold. It should be appreciated that, as described above, insome embodiments, the number of skips and the number of occurrences ofseed multiples may be detected by the same sensor, e.g., the seeddelivery sensor 80, or may be detected by separate sensors. It shouldfurther be appreciated that the pre-singulation sensor 104 may be usedto confirm whether the skips are occurring upstream of or before thesingulator 160.

In the event that the number of skips is greater than the predeterminedallowable skips threshold at the current singulator aggressivenesssetting, the controller 202 may determine that the seed meter 100 cannotoperate as desired and, at (412), indicate an error. More particularly,if the number of multiples at the current singulator aggressiveness iswithin the allowable multiples threshold, but the number of skips at thecurrent singulator aggressiveness exceeds the allowable skips threshold,there is no range of singulator aggressiveness settings that cansuitably meter the current seed type or seed lot being metered withoutadjusting the vacuum pressure.

Otherwise, in the event that the number of skips is less than thepredetermined allowable skips threshold, the controller 202 may, at(414), be configured to record the current aggressiveness setting of thesingulator 160 as a minimum acceptable aggressiveness setting for theseed meter 100. In this regard, the minimum acceptable aggressivenesssetting may, for instance, correspond to the lowest aggressivenesssetting for the seed meter 100 and the associated seed type at which theseed meter 100 can be operated while maintaining the number of multiplesbelow the allowable threshold. As indicated above, the “initialaggressiveness setting” set at (404) may correspond, for example, to thewidest possible setting for the singulator 160. In such instance, itwould typically be expected that the number of multiples at such settingwould be greater than the allowable multiples threshold. Thus, byiteratively increasing the singulator aggressiveness setting andre-assessing the performance of the seed meter at each iterativesetting, the controller 202 may determine the minimum aggressivenesssetting at which the operation of the seed meter 100 is acceptable interms of the number of seed multiples.

Moreover, in addition to determining the minimum acceptableaggressiveness setting for the singulator 160, the controller 202 mayalso be configured to determine a maximum acceptable aggressivenesssetting for the singulator 160 at which the seed meter operationsatisfies a given operational threshold(s) associated with the number ofseeds being released from the meter 100. For example as shown in FIG. 9,with the singulator 160 initially operating at the minimumaggressiveness setting recorded at (414), the controller 202 may, at(416), actuate one or both of the deflector actuators 170A, 170B toiteratively increase the singulator aggressiveness setting from theminimum aggressiveness setting. Thereafter, the controller 202 may, at(418), be configured to determine whether the number of skips is greaterthan or exceeds a predetermined allowable skips threshold.

In the event that the number of skips is less than or falls below thepredetermined allowable skips threshold, the controller 202 maydetermine that the aggressiveness setting of the singulator 160 may befurther increased and thus, at (416), actuate one or both of thedeflector actuators 170A, 170B to iteratively increase theaggressiveness setting of the singulator 160. Thereafter, the controller202 may wait a predetermined delay period, as described above, beforere-checking (at 418) whether the number of skips at the increasedaggressiveness setting of the singulator 160 is greater than thepredetermined allowable skips threshold.

Once it is detected that the number of skips is greater than or exceedsthe predetermined allowable skips threshold at (418), the controller 202may, at (420), be configured to record the previous aggressivenesssetting of the singulator 160 (i.e., the last aggressiveness settingapplied before the skips threshold was exceeded) as a maximum acceptableaggressiveness setting for the seed meter 100. In this regard, themaximum acceptable aggressiveness setting may, for instance, correspondto the most aggressive setting for the singulator 160 and the associatedseed type at which the seed meter 100 can be operated while maintainingthe number of skips below the allowable threshold. Thus, by iterativelyincreasing the singulator aggressiveness setting and re-assessing theperformance of the seed meter 100 at each higher iterative setting, thecontroller 202 may determine the maximum aggressiveness setting at whichthe operation of the seed meter 100 is acceptable in terms of the numberof seed skips.

It should be appreciated that the controller 202 may be configured toperform one or more additional singulator calibration cycles to adjustor verify the minimum aggressiveness setting and/or the maximumaggressiveness setting determined during the initial singulatorcalibration cycle. For example, in some embodiments, the minimumaggressiveness settings determined during the initial singulatorcalibration cycle and any additional, follow-up calibration cycles maybe averaged to calculate a final average minimum aggressiveness setting.Similarly, in some embodiments, the maximum aggressiveness settingsdetermined during the initial singulator calibration cycle and anyadditional, follow-up calibration cycles may be averaged to calculate afinal average maximum aggressiveness setting. However, the minimum andmaximum aggressiveness settings from the various singulator calibrationcycles may be otherwise analyzed or compared to determine final minimumand maximum aggressiveness settings for the singulator 160.

In addition to performing one or more additional singulator calibrationcycles following the initial singulator calibration cycle (or as analternative thereto), the controller 202 may be configured to perform areverse singulator calibration cycle in which the steps of thecalibration routine 400 are reversed to better account for hysteresiseffects. For example, in the case of a reverse singulator calibrationcycle following the determination of the maximum acceptableaggressiveness setting (e.g., at 416), the controller 202 may increasethe aggressiveness setting by a given margin (e.g., 10% over thepreviously determined maximum acceptable aggressiveness setting) andthen iteratively decrease the aggressiveness setting of the singulator160 until it is detected that the number of skips is less than thepredetermined allowable skips threshold, at which point the controller202 may record the current aggressiveness setting currently as a secondmaximum acceptable aggressiveness setting. Thereafter, the controller202 may further iteratively decrease the aggressiveness setting of thesingulator 160 until the number of multiples is greater than thepredetermined allowable multiples threshold and record theaggressiveness setting previously applied as a second minimum acceptableaggressiveness setting. By performing such a reverse calibration cycle,the controller 202 may further refine the specific aggressivenesssettings associated with the minimum and maximum acceptableaggressiveness settings for the singulator 160.

Alternatively, in the case of a stand-alone reverse singulatorcalibration cycle in which the initial singulator aggressiveness settingcorresponds to the maximum aggressiveness setting of the singulator 160,the controller 202 may similarly iteratively decrease the aggressivenesssetting of the singulator 160 until it is detected that the number ofskips is less than the predetermined allowable skips threshold, at whichpoint the controller 202 may record the current aggressiveness settingcurrently as a maximum acceptable aggressiveness setting. Thereafter,the controller 202 may further iteratively decrease the aggressivenesssetting of the singulator 160 until the number of multiples is greaterthan the predetermined allowable multiples threshold and record theaggressiveness setting previously applied as a minimum acceptableaggressiveness setting.

As a result of the above-described calibration routine 400, thecontroller 202 may define a target range of aggressiveness settings forthe singulator 160, from the minimum acceptable aggressiveness settingto the maximum acceptable aggressiveness setting, in which skips andmultiples are minimized within expectations. An appropriate operatingaggressiveness setting for the singulator 160 may then be selected fromthe target aggressiveness setting range.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a flow diagram of another embodiment of amethod 470 for automatically calibrating a seed singulator of a seedmeter is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present subjectmatter. In general, the method 470 will be described herein withreference to the system 200 described above with reference to FIG. 6.However, it should be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the artthat the disclosed method 470 may be implemented within any othersystem. In addition, although FIG. 10 depicts steps performed in aparticular order for purposes of illustration and discussion, the methoddiscussed herein is not limited to any particular order or arrangement.One skilled in the art, using the disclosures provided herein, willappreciate that various steps of the method disclosed herein can beomitted, rearranged, combined, and/or adapted in various ways withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 10, at (472), the method 470 includes controlling anoperation of a singulator for a seed meter to apply an initialaggressiveness setting to the seed meter. For example, as indicatedabove, at least one actuator 170A, 170B of the singulator 160 may becontrolled by the controller 202 to apply an initial aggressivenesssetting to the seed transport member 116 of the seed meter 100,particularly to seeds being carried within the seed cells 140 of theseed transport member 116.

Moreover, at (474), the method 470 includes controlling an operation ofthe seed meter to rotate the seed transport member relative to a seedchamber of the seed meter. For example, as indicated above, thecontroller 202 may control the operation of the meter drive member 122to rotate the seed transport member 116 to pick up seeds from the seedchamber 124 of the seed meter 100.

Further, at (476), the method 470 includes performing a calibrationcycle for the seed meter. For instance, as indicated above, thecalibration cycle may be used to determine at least one of a minimumacceptable aggressiveness setting or a maximum acceptable aggressivenesssetting to be applied by the singulator 160 to the seed meter 100.

As shown in FIG. 10, as part of the calibration cycle, the method 470includes monitoring a first parameter indicative of a number ofoccurrences of seed multiples associated with operation of the seedmeter at (476A). For example, as described above, the controller 202 mayreceive sensor data from one or more of the sensors downstream of thesingulator 160, e.g., the seed delivery sensor 80, indicating a numberof multiples occurring during operation of the seed meter 100 at a givensingulator aggressiveness setting.

Additionally, as part of the calibration cycle, the method 470 includesmonitoring a second parameter indicative of a number of empty seed cellsassociated with operation of the seed meter at (476B). For example, asdescribed above, the controller 202 may receive sensor data from one ormore of the sensors 80, 104, 106 indicating a number of skips occurringduring operation of the seed meter 100 at a given singulatoraggressiveness setting.

Further, as part of the calibration cycle, the method 470 includes, at(476C) iteratively adjusting the aggressiveness setting from the initialaggressiveness setting as the first and second parameters are beingmonitored. As described above, the controller 202 may, for example,control at least one actuator 170A, 170B of the singulator 160 toiteratively increase the aggressiveness of the singulator 160 from alower aggressiveness setting to a higher aggressiveness setting whilemonitoring the number of skips and multiples detected by the sensor(s)80, 104, 106.

Additionally, as part of the calibration cycle, the method 470 includes,at (476D), recording at least one aggressiveness setting applied to theseed transport member that is associated the first parameter and/or thesecond parameter crossing a predetermined threshold defined for suchparameter(s) as the aggressiveness setting is iteratively adjusted. Forexample, as indicated above, the controller 202 may record a minimumacceptable aggressiveness setting associated with the number ofmultiples falling below an allowable multiples threshold and/or amaximum acceptable aggressiveness setting associated with the number ofskips exceeding an allowable skips threshold.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a flow diagram of one embodiment of a controlalgorithm or routine 500 that may be executed when automaticallycalibrating both a vacuum source and a singulator of a seed meter isillustrated in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter. Ingeneral, the control routine 500 will be described herein as beingimplemented by the controller 202 of the system 200 described above withreference to FIG. 6. However, it should be appreciated that the variousprocesses described below may alternatively be implemented by anothercomputing device or any combination of computing devices. In addition,although FIG. 11 depicts control steps or functions performed in aparticular order for purposes of illustration, the control routinesdiscussed herein are not limited to any particular order or arrangement.One skilled in the art, using the disclosures provided herein, willappreciate that the various steps or functions of the algorithmsdisclosed herein can be omitted, rearranged, combined, and/or adapted invarious ways without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 11, while the implement 10, row unit 18, and/or seedmeter 100 is in a static position or is otherwise stationary, at (502),the controller 202 may be configured to control the meter drive member122 of the seed meter 100 as described above to rotate the seedtransport member 116 within the meter housing 110 relative to the seedscontained within the seed pool 125. Additionally, the controller 202 maycontrol the vacuum source 70, at (504), to set the vacuum pressure ofthe vacuum source 70 at an initial vacuum pressure and to control thedeflector actuator(s) 170A, 170B at (506) to set the aggressivenesssetting of the singulator 160 at an initial aggressiveness setting. Asindicated above, the initial vacuum pressure may correspond to theminimum vacuum setting for the vacuum source 70 and the initialaggressiveness setting may correspond to the least aggressive or passiveaggressiveness setting of the singulator 160, as in the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 11.

Thereafter, the controller 202 may be configured to determine a minimumacceptable vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70 at which the seedmeter operation satisfies a given operational threshold(s) associatedwith the number of seeds being released from the meter 100. For example,as shown in FIG. 11, at (508), the controller 202 may be configured toassess whether the vacuum pressure is high enough to allow the seedtransport member 116 to adequately pick-up seeds and transport suchseeds to the release point for subsequent delivery to the seed tube 82.More particularly, the controller 202 may be configured to determinewhether the number of skips detected by one of the sensors, e.g., by thepre-singulation sensor 104, the post-singulation sensor 106, and/or aseed delivery sensor 80, is less than or falls below a predeterminedallowable skips threshold.

In the event that the number of skips is greater than or exceeds thepredetermined allowable skips threshold, the controller 202 may beconfigured to determine that the vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70is not high enough. Thus, at (510), the controller 202 may control thevacuum source 70 to iteratively increase the vacuum pressure. Forexample, as indicated above, the controller 202 may iteratively increasethe vacuum pressure from a lower vacuum pressure setting to a highervacuum pressure setting. Following each iterative increase in the vacuumpressure, the controller 202 may wait a predetermined delay period, asdescribed above, before re-checking whether the number of skips at theincreased vacuum pressure of is greater than the predetermined allowableskips threshold.

Once it is detected that the number of skips is less than or falls belowthe predetermined allowable skips threshold at (508), the controller 202may determine a minimum acceptable aggressiveness setting for thesingulator 160. More particularly, the controller 202 may be configuredto assess whether the current aggressiveness setting is aggressiveenough to prevent the number of seed multiples from exceeding a giventhreshold. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, at (512), the controller202 may be configured to determine whether the number of multiplesdetected by one of the sensor(s) downstream of the singulator 160, e.g.,the seed delivery sensor 80, is less than or falls below a predeterminedallowable multiples threshold, as described above.

In the event that the number of multiples is greater than or exceeds thepredetermined allowable multiples threshold, the controller 202 may beconfigured to determine that the aggressiveness setting of thesingulator 160 is not aggressive enough and, at (514), actuate one orboth of the deflector actuators 170A, 170B to iteratively increase theaggressiveness of the singulator 160. Following each iterative increasein the singulator aggressiveness setting, the controller 202 may wait apredetermined delay period before re-checking at (508) whether thenumber of skips at the increased aggressiveness setting of thesingulator 160 is greater than the predetermined allowable skipsthreshold.

Once it is detected that the number of skips is less than or falls belowthe predetermined allowable skips threshold at (508) and that the numberof multiples is less than or falls below the predetermined allowablemultiples threshold at (512), the controller 202 may, at (516), recordthe current vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70 as a minimumacceptable vacuum pressure for the seed meter 100 and, at (518), beconfigured to record the current aggressiveness setting of thesingulator 160 as a minimum acceptable aggressiveness setting for theseed meter 100 for the minimum vacuum pressure recorded at (516). Thus,by iteratively increasing the vacuum pressure and singulatoraggressiveness setting and re-assessing the performance of the seedmeter 100 for each iterative setting, the controller 202 may determinethe minimum acceptable vacuum pressure setting and minimumaggressiveness setting at which the operation of the seed meter 100 isacceptable in terms of the number of skips and multiples.

Moreover, in addition to determining the combination of minimumacceptable aggressiveness setting for the singulator 160 and minimumvacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70, the controller 202 may also beconfigured to determine a maximum acceptable singulator aggressivenesssetting of the singulator 160 at which the seed meter operationsatisfies a given operational threshold(s) associated with the number ofseeds being released from the meter 100. For example as shown in FIG.11, with the singulator 160 initially operating at the minimum vacuumpressure recorded at (516) and the minimum acceptable aggressivenesssetting recorded at (518), the controller 202 may, at (520), actuate oneor both of the deflector actuators 170A, 170B to iteratively increasethe singulator aggressiveness setting of the singulator 160. Thereafter,the controller 202 may wait a predetermined delay period, as describedabove before determining, at (522), whether the number of skips detectedby one of the sensors downstream of the singulator 160, e.g., by thepost-singulation sensor 106 or the seed delivery sensor 80, is greaterthan or exceeds the predetermined allowable skips threshold.

In the event that the number of skips is less than or falls below thepredetermined allowable skips threshold, the controller 202 may beconfigured to determine that the aggressiveness setting of thesingulator 160 may be higher and thus, at (520), actuate one or both ofthe deflector actuators 170A, 170B further iteratively increase theaggressiveness setting of the singulator 160. Thereafter, the controller202 may wait a predetermined delay period, as described above, beforere-checking (at 522) whether the number of skips at the increasedaggressiveness setting of the singulator 160 is greater than thepredetermined allowable skips threshold.

Once it is detected that the number of skips is greater than or exceedsthe predetermined allowable skips threshold at (522), the controller 202may, at (524), be configured to record the previous aggressivenesssetting of the singulator 160 (i.e., the last aggressiveness settingapplied before the skips threshold was exceeded) as a maximum acceptableaggressiveness setting for the seed meter 100 for the minimum vacuumpressure recorded at (516).

It should be appreciated that the controller 202 may further beconfigured to perform one or more additional vacuum calibration cyclesand/or singulator calibration cycles, as indicated above, to adjust orverify the minimum acceptable vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70and the minimum acceptable aggressiveness setting and/or the maximumacceptable aggressiveness setting for the singulator 160 determinedduring the initial calibration cycle. In addition to performing one ormore additional vacuum calibration cycles and/or singulator calibrationcycles (or as an alternative thereto), the controller 202 may beconfigured to perform a reverse combined calibration cycle in which atleast some of the steps of the calibration routine 500 are reversed tobetter account for hysteresis effects. For example, upon determining themaximum acceptable aggressiveness setting (e.g., at 524), the controller202 may increase the aggressiveness setting by a given margin (e.g., 10%over the previously determined maximum acceptable aggressivenesssetting) and then iteratively decrease the aggressiveness setting of thesingulator 160 until it is detected that the number of skips is lessthan the predetermined allowable skips threshold, at which point thecontroller 202 may record the current aggressiveness setting currentlyas a second maximum acceptable aggressiveness setting. Thereafter, thecontroller 202 may further iteratively decrease the aggressivenesssetting of the singulator 160 until the number of multiples is greaterthan the predetermined allowable multiples threshold and record theaggressiveness setting previously applied as a second minimum acceptableaggressiveness setting.

As a result of the above-described calibration routine 500, thecontroller 202 may define a target range of aggressiveness settings ofthe singulator 160, from the minimum acceptable aggressiveness settingto the maximum acceptable aggressiveness setting, for the determinedminimum acceptable vacuum pressure, in which skips and multiples areminimized within expectations. An appropriate operating aggressivenesssetting of the singulator 160 may then be selected from the targetaggressiveness setting range for the minimum acceptable vacuum pressure.It should be appreciated that the control routine 500 may furtherdetermine a target range of aggressiveness settings for further (e.g.,higher) vacuum pressures.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a flow diagram of another embodiment of acontrol routine 500′ for calibrating both a vacuum source and asingulator of a seed meter in accordance with aspects of the presentsubject matter. In general, the control routine 500′ will be describedherein as being implemented by the controller 202 of the system 200described above with reference to FIG. 6. However, it should beappreciated that the various processes described below may alternativelybe implemented by another computing device or any combination ofcomputing devices. In addition, although FIG. 12 depicts control stepsor functions performed in a particular order for purposes ofillustration, the control routines discussed herein are not limited toany particular order or arrangement. One skilled in the art, using thedisclosures provided herein, will appreciate that the various steps orfunctions of the algorithms disclosed herein can be omitted, rearranged,combined, and/or adapted in various ways without deviating from thescope of the present disclosure.

It should be appreciated that elements or steps 502′-514′ of controlroutine 500′ are the same as or substantially the same as the elementsor steps 502-514 of the control routine 500 described above withreference to FIG. 11. As such, for the sake of brevity, such elements orsteps will not be described in details again with reference to FIG. 12.

As shown in FIG. 12, while the implement 10, row unit 18, and/or seedmeter 100 is in a static position or is otherwise stationary, at (502′),the controller 202 may be configured to control the meter drive member122 of the seed meter 100 as described above to rotate the seedtransport member 116 within the meter housing 110 relative to the seedscontained within the seed pool 125. Additionally, the controller 202 maycontrol the vacuum source 70, at (504′), to set the vacuum pressure ofthe vacuum source 70 at an initial vacuum pressure and to control thedeflector actuator(s) 170A, 170B at (506′) to set the aggressivenesssetting of the singulator 160 at an initial aggressiveness setting.Thereafter, at (508′), the controller 202 may determine whether thenumber of skips detected by one of the sensors, e.g., by thepre-singulation sensor 104, the post-singulation sensor 106, and/or aseed delivery sensor 80, is less than or falls below a predeterminedallowable skips threshold.

In the event that the number of skips is greater than or exceeds thepredetermined allowable skips threshold, at (510′), the controller 202may control the vacuum source 70 to iteratively increase the vacuumpressure. Once it is detected that the number of skips is less than orfalls below the predetermined allowable skips threshold at (508′), thecontroller 202 may, at (512′), be configured to determine whether thenumber of multiples detected by one of the sensor(s) downstream of thesingulator 160, e.g., the seed delivery sensor 80, is less than or fallsbelow a predetermined allowable multiples threshold, as described above.In the event that the number of multiples is greater than or exceeds thepredetermined allowable multiples threshold, the controller 202 may beconfigured to determine that the aggressiveness setting of thesingulator 160 is not aggressive enough and, at (514′), actuate one orboth of the deflector actuators 170A, 170B to iteratively increase theaggressiveness of the singulator 160.

Once it is detected that the number of skips is less than or falls belowthe predetermined allowable skips threshold at (508′) and that thenumber of multiples is less than or falls below the predeterminedallowable multiples threshold at (512′), the controller 202 may, at(516′), record the current aggressiveness setting of the singulator 160as a minimum acceptable aggressiveness setting for the seed meter 100,and, at (518′), be configured to record the current vacuum pressure ofthe vacuum source 70 as a minimum acceptable vacuum pressure for theseed meter 100 for the minimum aggressiveness setting recorded at(516′). Thus, by iteratively increasing the vacuum pressure andsingulator aggressiveness setting and re-assessing the performance ofthe seed meter 100 for each iterative setting, the controller 202 maydetermine the minimum acceptable vacuum pressure setting and minimumaggressiveness setting at which the operation of the seed meter 100 isacceptable in terms of the number of skips and multiples.

Moreover, in addition to determining the combination of minimumacceptable aggressiveness setting for the singulator 160 and minimumvacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70, the controller 202 may also beconfigured to determine a maximum acceptable y at which the seed meteroperation satisfies a given operational threshold(s) associated with thenumber of seeds being released from the meter 100. For example as shownin FIG. 12, with the singulator 160 initially operating at the minimumaggressiveness setting recorded at (516′) and the minimum vacuumpressure aggressiveness setting recorded at (518′), the controller 202may, at (520′), control the vacuum source 70 to iteratively increase thevacuum pressure. Thereafter, the controller 202 may wait a predetermineddelay period, as described above before determining, at (522′), whetherthe number of multiples is greater than or exceeds the predeterminedallowable multiples threshold.

In the event that the number of skips is less than or falls below thepredetermined allowable multiples threshold, the controller 202 may beconfigured to determine that the vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70may be higher and thus, at (520′), control the vacuum source 70 tofurther iteratively increase the vacuum pressure of the vacuum source70. Thereafter, the controller 202 may wait a predetermined delayperiod, as described above, before re-checking (at 522′) whether thenumber of multiples at the increased vacuum pressure of the vacuumsource 70 is greater than the predetermined allowable skips threshold.

Once it is detected that the number of multiples is greater than orexceeds the predetermined allowable multiples threshold at (522′), thecontroller 202 may, at (524′), be configured to record the previousvacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70 (i.e., the last vacuum pressureapplied before the multiples threshold was exceeded) as a maximumacceptable vacuum pressure for the seed meter 100 for the minimumsingulator aggressiveness setting recorded at (516′).

It should be appreciated that the controller 202 may further beconfigured to perform one or more additional vacuum calibration cyclesand/or singulator calibration cycles, as indicated above, to adjust orverify the minimum acceptable vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70and the minimum acceptable aggressiveness setting and/or the maximumacceptable vacuum pressure for the vacuum source 70 determined duringthe initial calibration cycle. In addition to performing one or moreadditional vacuum calibration cycles and/or singulator calibrationcycles (or as an alternative thereto), the controller 202 may beconfigured to perform a reverse combined calibration cycle in which atleast some of the steps of the calibration routine 500′ are reversed tobetter account for hysteresis effects. For example, upon determining themaximum acceptable vacuum pressure (e.g., at 524′), the controller 202may increase the vacuum pressure by a given margin (e.g., 10% over thepreviously determined maximum acceptable vacuum pressure) and theniteratively decrease the vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70 untilit is detected that the number of multiples is less than thepredetermined allowable multiples threshold, at which point thecontroller 202 may record the current vacuum pressure currently as asecond maximum acceptable vacuum pressure. Thereafter, the controller202 may further iteratively decrease the vacuum pressure of the vacuumsource 70 until the number of skips is greater than the predeterminedallowable skips threshold and record the vacuum pressure previouslyapplied as a second minimum acceptable vacuum pressure.

As a result of the above-described calibration routine 500′, thecontroller 202 may define a target range of vacuum pressures of thevacuum source 70, from the minimum acceptable vacuum pressure to themaximum acceptable vacuum pressure, for the determined minimumacceptable aggressiveness setting of the singulator 160, in which skipsand multiples are minimized within expectations. An appropriateoperating vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70 may then be selectedfrom the target vacuum pressure range for the minimum acceptableaggressiveness setting of the singulator 160. It should be appreciatedthat the control routine 500′ may further determine a target range ofvacuum pressures for further (e.g., higher) singulator aggressivenesssettings.

Referring now to FIG. 13, a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method550 for automatically calibrating both an air pressure source and seedsingulator of a seed meter is illustrated in accordance with aspects ofthe present subject matter. In general, the method 550 will be describedherein with reference to the system 200 described above with referenceto FIG. 6. However, it should be appreciated by those of ordinary skillin the art that the disclosed method 550 may be implemented within anyother system. In addition, although FIG. 13 depicts steps performed in aparticular order for purposes of illustration and discussion, themethods discussed herein are not limited to any particular order orarrangement. One skilled in the art, using the disclosures providedherein, will appreciate that various steps of the methods disclosedherein can be omitted, rearranged, combined, and/or adapted in variousways without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 13, at (552), the method 550 includes controlling anoperation of an air pressure source for a seed meter to apply an initialair pressure to a seed transport member of the seed meter. For example,as indicated above, the vacuum source 70 may be controlled by thecontroller 202 to apply an initial vacuum pressure to the seed cells 140of the seed transport member 116 of the seed meter 100.

Moreover, at (554), the method 550 includes controlling an operation ofa singulator for the seed meter to apply an initial aggressivenesssetting to seeds within the seed transport member. For example, asindicated above, the controller 202 may control at least one actuator170A, 170B of the singulator 160 to apply an initial aggressivenesssetting to seeds within the seed transport member 116 of the seed meter100.

Further, at (556), the method 550 includes controlling an operation ofthe seed meter to rotate the seed transport member relative to a seedchamber of the seed meter. For example, as indicated above, thecontroller 202 may control the operation of a meter drive member 122 torotate the seed transport member 116 to pick up seeds from the seedchamber 124 of the seed meter 100.

The method 550 further includes, at (558), performing a calibrationcycle for the seed meter. For instance, as indicated above, thecalibration cycle may be used to determine at least one of a minimumacceptable vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70 or a minimumacceptable aggressiveness setting of the singulator 160.

As shown in FIG. 13, as part of the calibration cycle, the method 550includes, at (558A), monitoring a first parameter indicative of a numberof empty seed cells. For example, as described above, the controller 202may receive sensor data from one or more of the sensors 80, 104, 106indicating a number of seed skips occurring during operation of the seedmeter 100 at a given vacuum pressure.

Further, the method 550 includes, at (558B), as part of the calibrationcycle, monitoring a second parameter indicative of a number ofoccurrences of seed multiples associated with operation of the seedmeter. For example, as described above, the controller 202 may receivesensor data from one or more of the sensors downstream of the singulator160, e.g., the seed delivery sensor 80, indicating a number of multiplesduring operation of the seed meter 100 at a given singulatoraggressiveness setting and vacuum pressure.

Additionally, as part of the calibration cycle, at (558C), the method550 includes iteratively increasing the air pressure from the initialair pressure while the first parameter is being monitored. As describedabove, the controller 202 may control the vacuum source 70 to increasethe vacuum pressure from a lower vacuum pressure step or setting to ahigher vacuum pressure step while monitoring the number of skipsdetected by the sensor(s) 80, 105, 106.

Moreover, at (558D), the method 550 includes, as part of the calibrationcycle, iteratively increasing the aggressiveness setting from theinitial aggressiveness setting while the second parameter is beingmonitored. As described above, the controller 202 may control the vacuumsource 70 to increase the vacuum pressure from a lower vacuum pressuresetting to a higher vacuum pressure setting while monitoring the numberof skips and multiples detected by the sensor(s) 80, 104, 106.

Additionally, at (558E), the method 550 includes, as part of thecalibration cycle, recording at least one air pressure and/or at leastone aggressiveness setting for the seed meter 100 that is associatedwith the first parameter and the second parameter crossing apredetermined threshold defined for such parameters. For example, asindicated above, the controller 202 may record a minimum acceptableaggressiveness setting associated with the detected number of multiplesfalling below an allowable multiples threshold and the detected numberof skips falling below an allowable skips threshold. Alternatively, oradditionally, as indicated above, the controller 202 may record aminimum acceptable vacuum pressure associated with the detected numberof multiples falling below an allowable multiples threshold.

Referring now to FIG. 14, a flow diagram of another embodiment of acontrol algorithm or routine 600 that may be executed when automaticallycalibrating both a vacuum source and a singulator of a seed meter isillustrated in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter. Ingeneral, the control routine 600 will be described herein as beingimplemented by the controller 202 of the system 200 described above withreference to FIG. 6. However, it should be appreciated that the variousprocesses described below may alternatively be implemented by anothercomputing device or any combination of computing devices. In addition,although FIG. 14 depicts control steps or functions performed in aparticular order for purposes of illustration, the control routinesdiscussed herein are not limited to any particular order or arrangement.One skilled in the art, using the disclosures provided herein, willappreciate that the various steps or functions of the algorithmsdisclosed herein can be omitted, rearranged, combined, and/or adapted invarious ways without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 14, while the implement 10, row unit 18, and/or seedmeter 100 is in a static position or otherwise stationary, at (602), thecontroller 202 may be configured to control the meter drive member 122as described above to rotate the seed transport member 116 within themeter housing 110 relative to the seeds contained within the seed pool125. Additionally, the controller 202 may further control the vacuumsource 70, at (604), to set the vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70at an initial vacuum pressure and the deflector actuator(s) 170A, 170B,at (606), to set the aggressiveness setting of the singulator 160 at aninitial aggressiveness setting.

Thereafter, at (608) the controller 202 may be configured to record thenumber of skips detected by one of the sensors, e.g., by thepre-singulation sensor 104, the post-singulation sensor 106, and/or aseed delivery sensor 80, and further, at (610), to record the number ofmultiples detected by one of the sensors, e.g., by the seed deliverysensor 80.

The controller 202 may further be configured to determine the number ofskips and multiples that occur with further combinations of the vacuumpressure and singulator aggressiveness settings applied to the seedtransport member 116 of the seed meter 100. For example, at (612), thecontroller 202 may be configured to determine if the singulator 160 isat its maximum aggressiveness setting (i.e., where the distances 166A,166B are smallest and the singulator 160 is most aggressive). Once it isdetermined that the singulator 160 is not at its maximum aggressivesetting at (612), the controller 202 may be configured, at (614), toiteratively increase the aggressiveness setting. For example, thecontroller 202 may be configured to actuate one or both of the deflectoractuators 170A, 170B to increase the aggressiveness setting of theactuator 160. For each iterative increase in aggressiveness setting at(614) until the singulator is at its maximum aggressiveness setting at(612), the controller 202 may be configured to record the number ofskips detected (e.g., at 608) and record the number of multiplesdetected (e.g., at 610).

Once the singulator 160 has reached its most aggressive setting at(612), the controller 202 may then be configured, at (616), to determineif the vacuum pressure is at its maximum desired pressure. The higherthe vacuum pressure of the vacuum source 70, the more energy required tooperate the vacuum source 70 and the more wear on the vacuum source 70and related parts of the seed meter 100. As such, “maximum desiredpressure” is intended to mean the highest vacuum pressure of the vacuumsource 70 to be tested. In some embodiments, the maximum desiredpressure may be lower than the highest possible vacuum pressure of thevacuum source 70.

When it is determined, at (616), that the vacuum pressure is not at itsmaximum desired pressure, the controller 202 may be configured, at(618), to iteratively increase the vacuum pressure. For example, thecontroller 202 may be configured to control the vacuum source 70 toiteratively increase the vacuum pressure from its initial vacuumpressure. For each iterative increase in the vacuum pressure, thecontroller 202 may further be configured to actuate the one or bothactuators 170A, 170B of singulator 160 to again set the singulator 160at its initial aggressiveness setting (e.g., at 606). In addition, thecontroller 202 may be configured to record the number of skips detected(e.g., at 608) and the number of multiples detected (e.g., at 610) foreach iterative aggressiveness setting of the singulator (e.g., at 614),as indicated above, until a number of skips and a number of multipleshas been recorded for each combination of vacuum pressure and singulatoraggressiveness. It should be appreciated that, as indicated above, afterany adjustment in vacuum pressure and/or singulator setting, thecontroller 202 may be configured to wait for a predetermined delayperiod to lapse before recording the number of skips or multiples ofeach combination of vacuum pressure and/or singulator setting.

In the event that the vacuum pressure is at its maximum desiredpressure, the controller 202 may be configured to categorize orotherwise analyze the results of all the tested combinations of vacuumpressure and singulator aggressiveness settings at (620). In oneembodiment, the controller 202 may categorize the results of the testedcombinations to at least help determine the sensitivity of the seed typeto vacuum pressure and to singulator aggressiveness. For instance, insome embodiments, the controller 202 may generate a heat map of theresults or may “bin” the results to highlight the combinations of vacuumpressure and singulator aggressiveness that have skips and multipleswithin, close to, or far from acceptable limits, such as the allowableskips threshold and the allowable multiples threshold described above,to help determine the sensitivity of the seed type. In some embodiments,added weight or preference may be given to combinations with lowervacuum pressures within the acceptable limits to improve the overallefficiency of the row unit 28. Thereafter, in some embodiments, thecontroller 202 may suggest, for the seed type, one or more suitablecombinations of vacuum pressure and singulator aggressiveness setting,or a target range for the vacuum pressure and a target range for thesingulator aggressiveness, based on the categorized results.

Alternatively, or additionally, the controller 202 may analyze theresults of the tested combinations of vacuum pressure and singulatoraggressiveness settings to determine a relationship(s) between thevacuum pressure and singulator aggressiveness setting for a given seedtype. For example, the controller 202 may generate a mathematicalrelationship between the vacuum pressure and singulator aggressivenesssetting using one or more techniques, such as linear regression,polynomial regression, logistic regression, Bayesian inference,K-nearest neighbor, fuzzy classification, and/or the like. Thereafter,in some embodiments, the controller 202 may display, such as via theuser interface 220, the determined relationship(s) and/or one or moreacceptable combinations of vacuum pressure and singulator aggressivenesscorresponding to the determined relationship(s) to an operator. Thecontroller 202 may further rank or bin such acceptable combinationsbased on efficiency or optimization.

It should further be appreciated that the controller 202 may perform oneor more additional calibration cycles to adjust or verify the number ofskips and multiples determined during the initial calibration cycle foreach combination before categorizing or analyzing the results. Forexample, in some embodiments, the number of skips determined during theinitial calibration cycle and any additional, follow-up calibrationcycles may be averaged to calculate a final average number of skips.Similarly, the number of multiples determined during the initialcalibration cycle and any additional, follow-up calibration cycles maybe averaged to calculate a final average number of multiples. However,the number of skips and multiples from the various calibration cyclesmay be otherwise analyzed or compared to determine final numbers ofskips and multiples for the seed meter 100.

Referring now to FIG. 15, a flow diagram of another embodiment of amethod 650 for automatically calibrating both an air pressure source andseed singulator of a seed meter is illustrated in accordance withaspects of the present subject matter. In general, the method 650 willbe described herein with reference to the system 200 described abovewith reference to FIG. 6. However, it should be appreciated by those ofordinary skill in the art that the disclosed method 650 may beimplemented within any other system. In addition, although FIG. 15depicts steps performed in a particular order for purposes ofillustration and discussion, the methods discussed herein are notlimited to any particular order or arrangement. One skilled in the art,using the disclosures provided herein, will appreciate that varioussteps of the methods disclosed herein can be omitted, rearranged,combined, and/or adapted in various ways without deviating from thescope of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 15, at (652), the method 650 includes automaticallycontrolling an operation of the air pressure source and the singulatorto apply a plurality of combinations of air pressure settings andaggressiveness settings to a seed transport member of the seed meter.For example, as indicated above, the vacuum source 70 may be operable toprovide a plurality of vacuum pressure settings the singulator 160 maysimilarly be adjustable to provide a plurality of aggressivenesssettings. The controller 202 may be configured to apply a plurality ofcombinations of vacuum pressure settings and aggressiveness settings tothe seed transport member 116 of the seed meter 100, where eachvacuum/singulator combination of the plurality of combinations has acombination of one vacuum pressure setting of the plurality of vacuumpressure settings and one aggressiveness setting of the plurality ofaggressiveness settings.

Moreover, at (654), the method 650 includes controlling an operation ofthe seed meter to rotate the seed transport member relative to a seedchamber of the seed meter. For example, as indicated above, thecontroller 202 may control the operation of a meter drive member 122 torotate the seed transport member 116 to pick up seeds from the seedchamber 124 of the seed meter 100.

Further, at (656), the method 650 includes recording empty cell dataassociated with a number of empty seed cells of the plurality of seedcells as the seed transport member is rotated relative to the seedchamber for each combination. As indicated above, the controller 202 mayreceive sensor data from one or more of the sensors 80, 104, 106 thatindicates a number of skips for each vacuumsingulator combination of theplurality of combinations of vacuum pressure settings and aggressivenesssettings as the seed transport member 116 is rotated relative to theseed chamber 124.

At (658), the method 650 further includes recording seed multiples dataassociated with a number of occurrences of seed multiples as the seedtransport member is rotated relative to the seed chamber for eachsetting combination. As indicated above, the controller 202 may receivesensor data from one or more sensors downstream of the singulator 160,e.g., the seed delivery sensor 80, that indicates a number of multiplesfor each vacuum/singulator combination of the plurality of combinationsof vacuum pressure settings and aggressiveness settings as the seedtransport member 116 is rotated relative to the seed chamber 124.

Additionally, at (660), the method 650 may include determining at leastone desired combination of settings from the plurality of combinationsof air pressure settings and aggressiveness settings for the seed meterbased on an analysis of the empty cell data and the seed multiples data.For example, as described above, the controller 202 may be configured tocategorize the plurality of combinations of vacuum pressure settings andaggressiveness settings by their associated number of skips andmultiples. The controller 202 may, for example, bin the results orcreate a heat map according to closeness to one or more thresholds suchas the allowable skip threshold and/or the allowable multiplesthreshold. The controller 202 may then determine at least one desiredcombination of vacuum pressure setting and aggressiveness setting fromthe plurality of categorized combinations of vacuum pressure settingsand aggressiveness settings.

It should be appreciated that, while the steps of the routines 300, 400,500, 500′, 600 are described with reference to a system having vacuum ornegative pressures supplied by a vacuum pressure source, the samemethods 300, 400, 500, 500′, 600 may also be applied to a system havingpositive pressure supplied by a suitable positive pressure source.

It is to be understood that, in several embodiments, the steps of theroutines 300, 40, 500, 500′, 600 and methods 370, 470, 550, 650 areperformed by the controller 202 upon loading and executing software codeor instructions which are tangibly stored on a tangible computerreadable medium, such as on a magnetic medium, e.g., a computer harddrive, an optical medium, e.g., an optical disc, solid-state memory,e.g., flash memory, or other storage media known in the art. Thus, inseveral embodiments, any of the functionality performed by thecontroller 202 described herein, such as the routines 3), 400, 500,500′, 600 and methods 370, 470, 550, 650, are implemented in softwarecode or instructions which are tangibly stored on a tangible computerreadable medium. The controller 202 loads the software code orinstructions via a direct interface with the computer readable medium orvia a wired and/or wireless network. Upon loading and executing suchsoftware code or instructions by the controller 202, the controller 202may perform any of the functionality of the controller 202 describedherein, including any steps of the routines 300, 400, 500, 500′, 600 andmethods 370, 470, 550, 650 described herein.

The term “software code” or “code” used herein refers to anyinstructions or set of instructions that influence the operation of acomputer or controller. They may exist in a computer-executable form,such as machine code, which is the set of instructions and data directlyexecuted by a computer's central processing unit or by a controller, ahuman-understandable form, such as source code, which may be compiled inorder to be executed by a computer's central processing unit or by acontroller, or an intermediate form, such as object code, which isproduced by a compiler. As used herein, the term “software code” or“code” also includes any human-understandable computer instructions orset of instructions, e.g., a script, that may be executed on the flywith the aid of an interpreter executed by a computer's centralprocessing unit or by a controller.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal languages of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A calibration method for a seed meter of an agricultural implement, the method comprising: controlling, with a computing device, an operation of an air pressure source for a seed meter to apply an initial air pressure to a seed transport member of the seed meter, the seed transport member defining a plurality of seed cells; controlling, with the computing device, an operation of the seed meter to rotate the seed transport member relative to a seed chamber of the seed meter, the seed chamber containing a plurality of seeds; performing, with the computing device, a calibration cycle for the seed meter, the calibration cycle comprising: monitoring, with the computing device, a first parameter indicative of a number of empty seed cells of the plurality of seed cells as the seed transport member is rotated relative to the seed chamber; iteratively adjusting, with the computing device, the air pressure applied to the seed transport member from the initial air pressure as the first parameter is being monitored; and when it is detected that the first parameter crosses a first threshold, recording, with the computing device, the associated air pressure as a minimum air pressure for the seed meter.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the calibration cycle further comprises: monitoring, with the computing device, a second parameter indicative of a number of occurrences of seed multiples associated with operation of the seed meter as the seed transport member is rotated relative to the seed chamber; iteratively adjusting, with the computing device, the air pressure applied to the seed transport member from the minimum air pressure as the second parameter is being monitored; and when the second parameter crosses a second threshold, recording, with the computing device, the associated air pressure as a maximum air pressure for the seed meter.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising determining, with the computing device, a target range for the air pressure of the air pressure source based at least in part on the minimum air pressure and the maximum air pressure.
 4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: executing, with the computing device, one or more additional calibration cycles for the seed meter; comparing, with the computing device, the minimum air pressures and the maximum air pressures determined for the calibration cycle and for each of the one or more additional calibration cycles; and determining, with the computing device, a target range for the air pressure of the air pressure source based at least in part on the comparison of the minimum air pressures and the maximum air pressures determined for the calibration cycle and for each of the one or more additional calibration cycles.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein each iterative adjustment of the calibration cycle is an iterative increase, wherein the one or more additional calibration cycles may include at least one reverse air pressure calibration cycle, each iterative adjustment of the at least one reverse air pressure calibration cycle being an iterative decrease.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein a first sensor is configured to detect the first parameter indicative of the number of empty seed cells of the plurality of seed cells, and a second sensor is configured to detect the second parameter indicative of the number of occurrences of seed multiples being released from the seed transport member, the first sensor differing from the second sensor.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first sensor comprises at least one of a pre-singulation sensor or a post-singulation sensor, and the second sensor comprises a seed delivery sensor.
 8. The method of claim 2, wherein a common sensor is configured to detect the first and second parameters.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling, with the computing device, an operation of a singulator for the seed meter to apply an initial aggressiveness setting for the singulator, wherein the calibration cycle further comprises: monitoring, with the computing device, a second parameter indicative of a number of occurrences of seed multiples associated with operation of the seed meter as the seed transport member is rotated relative to the seed chamber; iteratively adjusting, with the computing device, the aggressiveness setting for the singulator from the initial aggressiveness setting as the second parameter is being monitored and as air pressure is applied to the seed transport member; and when it is detected that the second parameter crosses a second threshold, recording, with the computing device, the associated aggressiveness setting as a minimum aggressiveness setting for the singulator.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the calibration cycle further comprises: iteratively adjusting, with the computing device, the aggressiveness setting for the singulator from the initial aggressiveness setting as the first parameter is being monitored and as air pressure is applied to the seed transport member; and when it is detected that the first parameter crosses the first threshold, recording, with the computing device, the associated aggressiveness setting as a maximum aggressiveness setting for the singulator.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the initial aggressiveness setting for the singulator corresponds to an aggressiveness setting within a passive range of aggressiveness settings for the singulator.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: executing, with the computing device, one or more additional calibration cycles for the seed meter; comparing, with the computing device, the minimum air pressures determined for the calibration cycle and the one or more additional calibration cycles; and determining, with the computing device, an adjusted minimum air pressure based at least in part on the comparison of the minimum air pressures determined for the calibration cycle and the one or more additional calibration cycles.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the initial air pressure corresponds to a minimum air pressure setting for the air pressure source.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the implement is stationary during the performance of the calibration cycle.
 15. A calibration method for a seed meter of an agricultural implement, the method comprising: controlling, with a computing device, an operation of an air pressure source for a seed meter to apply an initial air pressure to a seed transport member of the seed meter, the seed transport member defining a plurality of seed cells; controlling, with the computing device, an operation of the seed meter to rotate the seed transport member relative to a seed chamber of the seed meter, the seed chamber containing a plurality of seeds; performing, with the computing device, a calibration cycle for the seed meter, the calibration cycle comprising: monitoring, with the computing device, a first parameter indicative of a number of empty seed cells of the plurality of seed cells as the seed transport member is rotated relative to the seed chamber; monitoring, with the computing device, a second parameter indicative of a number of occurrences of seed multiples associated with operation of the seed meter as the seed transport member is rotated relative to the seed chamber; iteratively adjusting, with the computing device, the air pressure applied to the seed transport member from the initial air pressure as the first and second parameters are being monitored; recording, with the computing device, at least one air pressure applied to the seed transport member that is associated with at least one of the first parameter or the second parameter crossing a predetermined threshold defined for the at least one of the first parameter or the second parameter as the air pressure is iteratively adjusted.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the air pressure applied to the seed transport member is recorded as a minimum air pressure of the at least one air pressure when the first parameter crosses a first threshold.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the air pressure applied to the seed transport member is recorded as a maximum air pressure of the at least one air pressure when the second parameter crosses a second threshold.
 18. The method of claim 15, further comprising: executing, with the computing device, one or more additional calibration cycles for the seed meter; comparing, with the computing device, the air pressures associated with the at least one of the first parameter or the second parameter crossing the predetermined threshold defined for the at least one of the first parameter or the second parameter determined for the calibration cycle and each of the one or more additional calibration cycles; and determining, with the computing device, at least one adjusted air pressure for the air pressure of the air pressure source based at least in part on the comparison.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the initial air pressure corresponds to a minimum air pressure setting for the air pressure source.
 20. A calibration method for a seed meter of an agricultural implement, the method comprising: controlling, with a computing device, an operation of an air pressure source for a seed meter to apply an initial air pressure to a seed transport member of the seed meter, the seed transport member defining a plurality of seed cells; controlling, with the computing device, an operation of a singulator for the seed meter to apply an initial aggressiveness setting for the singulator; controlling, with the computing device, an operation of the seed meter to rotate the seed transport member relative to a seed chamber of the seed meter, the seed chamber containing a plurality of seeds; and performing, with the computing device, a calibration cycle for the seed meter, the calibration cycle comprising: monitoring, with the computing device, a first parameter indicative of a number of empty seed cells of the plurality of seed cells as the seed transport member is rotated relative to the seed chamber; monitoring, with the computing device, a second parameter indicative of a number of occurrences of seed multiples associated with operation of the seed meter as the seed transport member is rotated relative to the seed chamber; incrementally adjusting, with the computing device, the air pressure from the initial air pressure applied to the seed transport member while the first parameter is being monitored; incrementally adjusting, with the computing device, the aggressiveness setting from the initial aggressiveness setting for the singulator while the second parameter is being monitored; and recording, with the computing device, the air pressure applied to the seed transport member that is associated with the first parameter crossing a predetermined threshold defined for the first parameter and the second parameter crossing a predetermined threshold defined for the second parameter as a minimum air pressure. 